tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post2197066107195819322..comments2014-04-13T15:09:41.870-05:00Comments on The Word of God Is Not Bound: I LOVE CRAZY MISSIONARIES....Ed Franklinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-27407439382863759712010-03-31T11:09:28.097-05:002010-03-31T11:09:28.097-05:00I agree with your premise as described. I think a ...I agree with your premise as described. I think a better model would be for churches to go where there is no coverage. For instance our church has been going to Plzen, Czech Repulic for 3 years. The first two of those years there was no missionary on the ground. We made contacts, got into schools to teach English, etc. Once the missionary got there, two years later, he was miles ahead. His first home church meeting, two months after his arrival, had a turn out of 12 people. These 12 were converts/contacts we had made in our two years of visiting. We go back in July and the city of Plzen is paying our lodging bill because the guy that handles the money for the city is one of these contacts.<br />The job is not getting done globally and it won't unless we reformulate our process. Churches have to get involved some way other than wrting a check and thinking "okay, I did my part".Edwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16389332987447893458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-12227482617705396702010-03-29T13:50:40.470-05:002010-03-29T13:50:40.470-05:00"leave it to the pros" huh?
That could ..."leave it to the pros" huh?<br /><br />That could be what I mean, I guess. Depends upon what one means by "professional missionary" of course.<br /><br />What I am objecting to is the casual, entertainment-type "mission trip" so popular in our circles (SBC) these days. I know you have some experience in short-term missions and report that they are (or can be) useful. I don't doubt that there are exceptions to the general state of affairs which I see as a waste of resources and sometimes more a distraction and/or hindrance to the missionary on the field.<br /><br />Let me set up a hypothetical with purely "guess-timation" numbers. A team of six holiday missionaries goes from Tennessee to Costa Rica for a week-long endeavor in aid of a mission work already in place, perhaps shall we say to work on a new building. Figure the transportation costs, lodging, meals, including the de rigueur "day off" trip to the beach or mountains or whatever. Also, factor in the loss of production from the regular jobs of these "missionaries" plus all the "planning" and meetings by the sending church, plus this that and the other which I have not listed. All things considered, the price tag for such a trip could easily be $30-50,000.<br /><br />Here's the question: How does this "value received" compare to what the resident missionary might have been able to get done with local labor, etc, had the sending church mailed him a check for $50,000. rather than sending those tourists down there for a week?<br /><br />I have seen some of these missions where the "project" was holding a VBS! Good grief!....are resident missionaries unable to hold a VBS using their own congregation members? Do they need "experts" from Civilization to spend a fortune traveling down there to show them how?<br /><br />"Professional missionaries".......implies "amateur missionaries"........I'm not sure either category is legitimate.Ed Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-80623810207385042952010-03-28T08:21:31.492-05:002010-03-28T08:21:31.492-05:00Ed, some of your comments would lead one to believ...Ed, some of your comments would lead one to believe that your view is that missions are "best left to the professionals". Am I reading this wrong or is that, indeed, what you mean?Edwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16389332987447893458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-11759967924223433842010-03-25T09:54:51.567-05:002010-03-25T09:54:51.567-05:00Sounds good at first....I thought that, too....but...Sounds good at first....I thought that, too....but it would involve breaking the law, which of course we are commanded not to do.Ed Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-41059477086723524412010-03-25T08:59:25.294-05:002010-03-25T08:59:25.294-05:00Since this is all under the topic of being foolish...Since this is all under the topic of being foolish for Christ...why not just get arrested? Then there's no waivers and no outside organization or motivation.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03443868102626190760noreply@blogger.com