Unintentional Promulgators of the Prosperity Gospel

The so-called "Prosperity Gospel" is basically the idea that if you believe in Jesus, and follow him correctly, your problems and ills will disappear--you will become healthier and wealthier.  Happiness is the result of not having problems, of things working out, life becoming easier. 

How many times do we unwittingly send this message? 

Now, there are those who believe that this is what the Bible teaches.  I am not one of them.  True, Jesus healed people in the Bible.  True, God solved problems for people many times.  True, the Almighty has blessed people in many ways, including materially.  But I believe God's ultimate purpose for all of us is holiness, rather than happiness defined by material comfort and ease of living.  Jesus said that the way to life is a narrow road and that only a few find it.  The road that leads to destruction, however, is broad and many travel on it.  So Jesus never promises us that the road we take will be easy.  But the destination is good.  If we choose the road according to the ease of travel and not the for where it leads, then we're asking for trouble.  This could be it's own discussion, but we'll save it for another time.

Sometimes we become unintentional promulgators of the prosperity gospel when we share testimonies about how God helped overcome our problems.  Now, I don't think we shouldn't praise God for such help or keep from sharing those testimonies.  But we should be aware of who is listening and what misunderstandings they might draw about the underlying meaning of our testimony.  If the people come from an animistic worldview, it is very likely that they will assume the message is this: Believing in God is the way to prosperity. 

Do we want people to be tempted to believe in God because of what they think they'll gain materially?

Sometimes we become unintentional promulgators of the prosperity gospel when we give money away too freely and openly.  I see this a lot.  Let me say this again:  I see this a LOT!  Sure, we want to be generous and help those in need.  But we must be careful and we should do it in secret, as Jesus instructed us.  I've had numerous people approach me seriously ready to become Christians (or "enter the religion") if they can just get the financial help they need.  Where did they get this idea?  They saw rich foreign Christians helping poor local believers and made the assumption--If I believe in their religion I will get a lot of stuff. 

It sounded like pretty good news to them.

But if we are simply feeding someone's greed, then we are not helping.  Indeed, we are hurting the work of the kingdom.  Other people around the recipient see that his "belief" has allowed him to become wealthy, and they are then tempted to

Orality

This past year we've been doing chronological Bible storying.  I got a set of 37 stories from Creation to Christ--summaries of the main Biblical stories--and had them translated into our language here. 

As we started to use them I found out that these stories are WAY too long to be done orally.  Whoever wrote them can't possibly be using them in an oral story-telling approach.  The only way they could be using these stories is to read them out of the book they've printed them in.  This is even more evident when you consider the introductions, the questions and commentary printed along with each story.  All it is is a simplified Bible commentary. 

So I have been "re-crafting" each of the stories so that they can be used orally.  It is a lot of work.  But the idea is that we can all teach and learn the story without having to look in a book.

The results have been amazing.  In the format we use, the story is repeated at least 6-7 times in one setting.  The narrative is ingrained in the memory of the participants.  I have seen them refer to these stories while sharing the gospel with other people.  Nothing has helped them to better retain the message of the Bible than working through these stories.

Being a Model

I believe that my role as a Western missionary in a non-Western, creative-access location is NOT to be the evangelist who wins all the people to Christ, or the pastor who counsels and comforts all the believers.  My role is not to be the preacher in the church or to be the leader of the Christian community. 

I firmly believe that it is my role to train and equip national believers to do those ministries.  I can disciple, train and teach leaders, but I must be doing it in a way that is equipping them to go out and do it with more people.  I can help mobilize them to do it one way or another that doesn't cause dependency. 

But what I've also found is that I have to model what I want them to do.  If I don't, I have a hard time training them to do it.  I can teach them an evangelistic message to share, but they don't really get trained in evangelism until I take them with me and show them how to do it "live."  If they don't see it in action, chances are they won't really put it into practice.

So, I've been setting aside time lately just to go visit non-believers in a way that I would like to see our disciples do so.  I have a short gospel message and my own testimony ready to go each time, no matter who I visit.  And I also try to take my disciples with me.  Not only can they help, but they get to see it modeled.  I am finding that this makes all the difference. 

Sheep Rustlers

One of the saddest parts about being a missionary is when missionaries fight over nationals.  Now, you would think this would never happen.  You would think, that for all our theological and philosophical differences, we would still all agree not to steal each other's sheep.  You would think that, wouldn't you?

I know that some (most?) missionaries who do "steal sheep" do so unintentionally or without realizing that this is what they are doing.  Sometimes missionaries just feel they are building relationships in the wider national Christian community and then "following opportunities."  Sometimes they offer free financial assistance more readily than others and unwittingly draw nationals to them who feel they can get more from the new guy.  Sometimes they just think what they're doing is better than what you're doing and they are justified in pulling someone away from you. 

But with all the fish in the sea...

There are an ocean of unreached people here in The Location and in most of the Least Reached World (10/40 Window, or whatever you want to call it).  Why do we fight over a few of them? 

I have made it my policy to try to find and work with locals who have no connections with other full-time foreign missionaries.  It's not because I have anything against those who do.  It's just that I want to maximize the effectiveness of ALL of our efforts.  I don't want to be accused by others of stealing their sheep, nor do I want to be guilty of that.

Destructive Dynamic

One of the most dangerous and destructive dynamics is the desire on the part of missionaries (short or long term) to feel like they're making a difference. 

Watch out!