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[Sister Alvear]

I copied this from an article and agree with 95 % of it...

MISSIONARY MADNESS

Turning Sacred Cows into Holy Hamburgers

by Dr. Brian Abshire

Every year, right around this time, suddenly I get a number of phone calls, emails or letters from people I haven’t spoken to in years; and amidst all the “Hi, How are you” stuff is also the “exciting opportunity” their little “Sally” or “Billy” has to “minister” somewhere; and they are graciously offering ME the chance to be involved if I will just send a check.

Just between you and me, few things infuriate me more when people attempt to put a pious front on their basically selfish orientation; i.e., Christians refusing to acknowledge their real motives for doing something; trying to make it sound “spiritual” when in reality they just want something for themselves. Whether it be Amway, or some other pyramid scheme, life-insurance or some other con job, they all try to sell me something not on its merits, but on the “idea” that somehow, THIS product, service, ministry, etc., will somehow make me “holier” by participating. And of all the scams that come across my desk, “short term missions” work is the one that makes me want to scream the loudest, use bad words and throw things.

You know the scam because you have been guilt-tripped into giving money to some friend, or some friend’s kids, so that they could spend two or three weeks in some third world nation doing “missions’ work.” And of course, what sort of mean, nasty monster must I be to object to such “service for God?” And there of course is the false-piety; what these people are “selling” is the idea that by giving money to support these “missions’ trips” we are giving to the Kingdom.

Well, I want to argue that this is NOT service for God; but rather a waste of time, money and energy that is inherently deceptive, manipulative and self-serving. Now don’t get me wrong; I have every respect for REAL missionaries; you know the one’s I mean; people who leave family and friends behind to preach the Gospel in some difficult place, confronting paganism, animism and demonism. These people are heroes and I have every respect for them.

However, please don’t call yourself a “missionary” if you don’t do “missionary” work. Missionaries preach the Gospel, start churches, disciple leaders and open new territories for Christ. Thus if you are an accountant, school teacher or cook working for a mission’s organization, you are NOT a missionary. You are an accountant, teacher or cook working maybe in a foreign land. And while accountants, book-keepers, cooks and janitors all have important work to do, they are NOT “missionaries.” Misusing this term commits the fallacy of “equivocation” wherein you subtly shift between the meanings of words using the connotations of one meaning to justify the connotations of another.

The one question I always ask a missionary who is home on deputation is “who was the last person you led to Christ.” Time and again when I have interviewed “missionaries” I find that few of them actually DO evangelism OTHER than simply “preaching.” They often raise enormous amounts of money (a significant percentage of which goes to build expensive office buildings and to pay for “administration” and staff here in the US) and live on a salary that puts them in the top 2% of the culture where they “minister.”

And short-term “missions” are simply all expense paid vacations to exotic locations so people can feel good about themselves on YOUR dime. The scam starts with someone wanting to “motivate” young people about “missions.” Then, a program is developed wherein high-schoolers are encouraged to go to some third world nation for a couple of weeks to do “short-term mission’s work.” That “work” usually consists of doing some light construction or something, singing a lot of songs and holding hands for Jesus with everyone feeling really good about their “service” to God. But to go on this trip, they need YOUR money to finance airfares, hotels, meals, insurance, etc. And usually you have to raise 20% or more above basic expenses which goes right to the mission headquarters.

Now what has this “mission’s trip” actually accomplished? Well, do you really think it is cost effective to send a bunch of untrained American teenagers to Central America for three weeks to do light construction work? Are third world nations really THAT short-handed in labor that it makes sense to import at great expense American unskilled labor? Couldn’t you do the SAME construction work for a FRACTION of the cost by hiring local workers? So, the first “benefit” of short term missions is to deprive local people of some desperately needed work and wages; boy that must really help the kingdom!

And what about this “work” constitutes “missions;” do these kids have any training in sharing the Gospel in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Xhosa, Zulu, Swahili or whatever? What, that would take years to master and we cannot expect our kids to actually SPEAK the language of the people to whom they are supposed to be “ministering” to? And these kids have NO theological training, NO evangelism training and in fact will likely never actually TALK with foreign nationals anyway? So other than playing “ping-pong” in the Recreation center, or doing some “grunt” work that could be hired out much more cost effectively, just what DO these kids do?

Well, they have an “experience.” And that is what so infuriates me when I am asked to give my hard earned money. In reality, these kids (and often adults) are doing NOTHING for the Kingdom that could not be done better, and more cost effectively by locals. But it makes people feel GREAT to be able to say “Well, you know I did missionary work in Africa.” And because American Christians are so selfish, they will close their heart to a legitimate plea such as “We need money to build a new building at our mission’s compound in Zambia” but will jump at the chance to pay thousands of dollars so they can go and have a “missions’ experience.”

And of course, at least these people DO go to a third world nation; I have even MORE heart-burn about Americans going to Hawaii or some other tourist destination and claiming they are doing “Mission’s work;” especially when they are doing jobs that again, could be hired out to locals at a fraction of the cost. Rich people often send their kids on a tour of Europe so they can live for a couple of years in a foreign culture, soak up the language, art, cuisine, etc., and so come home with an enriching life-experience. Some Christians get the church to finance their kids to do the same thing; but they have to “spiritualize” it because they lack a little moral integrity to admit this is the actual goal. Maybe I am a little TOO cynical here; but never underestimate the degree that Christians are willing to embrace self-deception when it suits them. But if so, then someone has to blow the whistle on this scam and call it what it is; just another form of “spiritual” socialism.

So why then do missionary societies and programs work so hard at selling short term missions’ projects that they KNOW accomplish NOTHING to actually change a culture? As the old adage goes, follow the money. These organizations also KNOW that it is hard to get people to give money. So they have to create ways to generate income.

OK, if I haven’t really offended everyone let me throw one last shot across the bow; MOST (not all) “Missions” work is a scam existing to support a bureaucracy, NOT to actually evangelize pagans. Something like half of American missionaries in Africa end up in Kenya; yet every year, the plea comes down to support our “missions” work there. Why so many missionaries to ONE nation that has been evangelized for over a century and has an over 70% Christian population? Why do most “missionaries” NEVER lead ANYONE to Christ? Why must missionaries raise incredible amounts of money BEFORE they can “go to the field;” significant amounts of which STAYS in America at the national headquarters?