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| PentecostalTheology.com
Keith Green, the late prophetic psalmist, had it right when he asked, “The question is not if you are called to go. The question is are you called to stay?” The truth is many have no desire to embrace the gospel in a different cultural context than what they grew up in.
William Lance Huget [01/18/2016 12:32 AM]
Indigenous missions vs colonial are far more effective/cost effective. We can do both, but sending, supporting, etc. is also missions. We all must disciple and evangelize in our own contexts/cultures as well.
www.gfa.org
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 12:34 AM]
Indigenous missions does not work and I am not even sure if it is biblical. GFA has HUGE corruption issues.
William Lance Huget [01/18/2016 12:43 AM]
Indigenous missions are vastly more effective than colonial missions. It costs a fortune to send a North American overseas to be pampered, learn the language, learn the culture, etc. As well, many countries are now closed to foreign missionaries. There are workers already laying down their lives who have started countless growing churches and are helped with our support (vs some North Americans who toil for decades with great expense and little fruit).
GFA has had recent issues after years of solid track record. I am hugely grieved by this and they are now working through accountability and change. As if there have not been corruption and waste in North American missionaries/boards. I mention GFA as a strategy (there are others) that simply are the only way much of the world will be reached.
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 12:45 AM]
Completely untrue. Indigenous is marked with heresies and all types of unbiblical messes. I have seen it happen first hand. We have one missionary in Davao claiming to be Elijah now.
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 12:46 AM]
Laying down their lives? Funny. They are supported by western money and think they should have air conditioning. It is a joke. I see it daily.
William Lance Huget [01/18/2016 12:48 AM]
Your anecdote does not change facts. This is like saying Jim Jones went rogue so all North American church leaders are corrupt, evil, false, etc. Indigenous missions, like any organization, need credibility, accountability, etc. Your Elijah guy would get the boot if he was part of a credible group. It can also happen in North America. So?
You are making judgments based on your limited experience. North Americans are the ones who want to be in compounds, etc. I am talking about India. For every dependent or corrupt one, there are many more that do not fit your air conditioned dude.
Philippines, Mexico, India, Africa, etc. is known for their corruption (so is North America) from the top down. The church is not immune, even in Paul’s day.
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 12:49 AM]
If you are telling me you have to be a national to be effective…. Reinhard Bonnke would disagree so would TL Osborn. 🙂
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 12:50 AM]
Benny Hinn did more for India in a week than the Indians did in a decade.
William Lance Huget [01/18/2016 12:54 AM]
Benny Hinn?! You are complaining about a sweaty Filipino, but not Hinn and his odious lifestyle?!
I have followed Bonnke for decades. I did not say cross-cultural missionaries are ineffective always. I said it is both/and vs either/or. You are the one trashing indigenous missions or arrogantly thinking white guys have more integrity or effectiveness.
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 12:56 AM]
indigenous missions dont work. I have rarely seen it work. They want indigenous workers but western money. Doesnt work that well. I am not a believer in indigenous missions.
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 2:12 AM]
btw, what did you think of the article?
William Lance Huget [01/18/2016 2:18 AM]
Skim…it is not the Bible, so not infallible. A heart for discipleship, missions, evangelism cannot be faulted.
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 2:45 AM]
Discilpleship is a touchy subject. I believe we are doing all wrong.
Tim Law [01/18/2016 5:40 PM]
What an excellent post!! 100 Amens!!!!
Peter A Vandever [01/18/2016 9:59 PM]
Tim Law, what did you like about it?
Walter Polasik
Thoughtful. But when God calls someone to a mission field and equips them, if that missionary trusts God, they will stay.
Walter Polasik
Street Preacherz Thoughtful words and encouraging. That one man’s weight in the fight might make the difference.
Street Preacherz
Some men’s sins go before some come after.
In every effort there is a tipping point a positive stress, a resistance, a yield, and a break. I have found that if you are willing to throw your weight into the fight, however small, it may the deciding factor of a man’s life, a families life, the life of a church, a vision, a city, a nation.
Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”
That’s the call, His will…
That’s the meat, the doing…