AVOIDING THE TENTMAKER TRAP
A special edition for the Bedouin CD
Not to be copied in any way
This book was re-edited in 1997 and printed by WEC International. Second printing 1999, Third Printing 2002. To obtain the latest version with up-to-date appendicies etc., please contact WEC International
Dan Gibson
2002
1 Chapter One Tom and Sue (A case study)
Tom and Sue were excited. Their interest in missions had been growing for several years now and finally the pieces were falling together. Several weeks back Tom responded to an advert in a professional journal for a position in the Middle East and the reply was positive. The company wanted them in two weeks time!
At first they were taken back by the suddenness of it all, but the company was adamant that they must come in two weeks or else someone else would fill the position. They spent a long evening together discussing the pro's and cons. Tom would have to quit his job at the plant. Sue would need to leave her work at the flower shop. It would mean leaving their church and close friends. That much seemed normal, although a little frightening. They had grown used to the security that comes from a steady job, income and the support of their church.
But Sue was excited about the possibilities of missions. The more they discussed it the more excited they got. First of all they wouldn't have to join a mission organization. They were painfully aware of a young couple from their church who had spent several years trying to raise enough support for missions and then had fallen short and were now trying to sort their lives out. This would be different.
Tom was excited about the job. It was like getting a promotion. He would be filling a supervisory role. Something he always wanted to move into. The pay was better so that would help cover Sue's lost
2 wage until she could find a job. Even with just Tom working they would be able to continue with their house payments. Along with this, they could rent out their newly acquired home and used the rental income towards the mortgage.
They best part was getting several weeks of home leave every year. They could fly home and see their parents and relatives each year. It seemed too good to be true.
The next morning they called the company and told them they would take the job. By noon a contract had been faxed to them which they signed and returned hours later.
Tom and Sue were in a daze when they got to their small group bible study that evening. At first the group was shocked, more at the suddenness of things than at the fact that Tom and Sue were leaving. Bob, who regularly lead the bible study decided to change his topic at the last minute. He had everyone turn in their bibles to Acts 18 where they read together the passage about the apostle Paul working as a tentmaker, and ministering among the Jews of the city on the Sabbath day.
"I guess Tom and Sue are going to be our tentmakers" he added. "They are going to a country where Christian missionaries are not allowed. While they will have their job to support them, they will be witnesses for the Lord just like Paul was there at Corinth. Tom and Sue won't actually make tents, but they will use their professional skills as they have always done, and minister for the Lord as well."
Tom and Sue looked at each other. It really was exciting. They had now become tentmakers! When the meeting ended everyone crowded around them.
Marg tried to act calm but tears rolled down her face as she embraced Sue after the meeting. They had become close friends in the last two years. Parting was going to be hard.
3 "It's not like were leaving for good" Sue insisted. "We are coming back! We've still got the house, and we get to visit for three weeks each year."
The men had crowded around Tom after the meeting and were full of questions. Tom proudly told them about the job and the good pay. They all seemed to be impressed. Before they left that night, the group gathered around Tom and Sue and prayed for them in their new venture.
That night as Tom and Sue lay in bed they recalled the excitement of the last couple of days. So much had happened. Their bible study group was so supportive. Surely God was leading them forward.
They next week and a half was a blur of activity. Sue quit her job early so she could pack up the house. They were going to store their belonging in the spare bedroom in the basement. They had to arrange extra insurance for their house while they were gone, and they had to change their address and get a mail forwarding service to handle all the bills and important papers. Marg agreed to look after the house and find renters for them. Tom spent quite some time checking with movers until he found someone who would move them to the Middle East.
The company in the Middle East had promised to refund them for moving up to 2000 pounds of goods. As they packed and weighted things they realized they could take an awful lot of stuff.
"I wonder what I can buy there?" Sue mused one afternoon. "We don't know anything about the country we are going to."
"I guess we'll find out soon enough" Tom quipped, "how about giving me a hand packing the microwave?"
The Sunday before they were to leave, the pastor arranged to have Tom and Sue come forward for prayer. They were quite nervous
4 to be in front of the entire church, but the pastor put them at ease. "We'll have you come forward, you can share about what you are doing, and then I'll pray for you."
They were glad when it was over. After church people crowded around to say good-bye and promise them they would pray for them. Tom and Sue felt great. They had never felt such support from their church before.
Before they knew it, they were on the plane.
The thing Tom remembered most about landing at the airport was the blast of hot air coming into the plane when the doors were opened. Sue remembered the soldiers with guns around the plane. Inside the terminal was a young Indian or Pakistani man holding a sign with their names clearly printed on it. He warmly welcomed them in excellent English and they gathered their suitcases and all got into the company bus.
As they drove away from the airport Sue was aware of how differently she was dressed. The local women were covered in long robes and wore black veils over their heads. Her shorts and sleeveless shirt made her feel, well, naked. And she felt anger about the way the men looked at her. She tried to convince herself that this was just the initial adjustments to moving to a new place.
When they arrived at the compound. Sue read several company names above the gate, while the guard opened the big black bars. The young Indian man explained that their house was on road fifteen, and was house number six hundred and twenty two.
"How many houses are in here?" Tom inquired. The young man smiled proudly. "There are over one thousand, sir. With two shopping centers, a golf course, a swimming pool, and a theater. You will like it here very much. Everything you need is here. Tomorrow we will go to clear your belongings from customs."
5 The house was small but impressive. It was cute little bungalow surrounded by palm trees and shrubs. The neighboring houses were very close but the trees helped separate them. Inside things were warm and cheery. As they unpacked their things Sue couldn't help but be amazed at how good God had been to them.
Tom enjoyed his first day at work. He always enjoyed meeting people and that day proved to be full of introductions. His boss was from Texas, and his secretary was from the Philippines. He meet the staff of the department he was to supervise. They were an interesting collection of internationals, some were Indians, some from Pakistan, but most seemed to be from Asia, Thailand or the Philippines. There was one Yemani. His right hand man, whom he was to train as his successor was a Palestinian from the West Bank.
Sue spend an interesting day getting the house ready, and meeting some of the other women on the compound. One set of neighbors from Australia invited them for supper that evening. She learned the other neighbors were from the USA but were out most of the time. The rest of the day was spent exploring the various services and sports facilities around the compound.
Tom arrived back from work with a worried look on his face. He threw a small folder down on the table. "Here, read this" he snorted. "It's our living contract. They forgot to send it to me. We have to sign it to stay here."
"What's wrong with it?" Sue asked wide eyed.
"Wrong? Everything is wrong! We can't leave the compound without permission, we must be on a company bus when we do, and you have to wear long clothes and a scarf if we go shopping down town!"
That night over supper with their neighbors they got the whole story. The living contract was always signed here, never before you arrived. The reasons where clear. This was a Muslim country, and the
6 government didn't want foreigners mixing with the local people; fear of alcohol and loose women mostly.
"Besides, you don't know the language out there and everything you need is in here," they were assured. "There are lots of sight seeing trips. One is arranged every Friday afternoon. You are not trapped in a prison, you are protected from the outside elements"
So Tom and Sue settled down to their new life. They soon discovered a small bible study group on the compound. The members were tentmakers like themselves. And they had a very effective ministry. There were several thousand people on the compound, and hundreds of Asian workers who came in each day to run the facilities and clean their homes. The other tentmakers were very involved in witnessing and they were seeing their little group grow.
After three years in the Middle East Tom and Sue returned to North America to have their first baby, live in their house and enjoy life with their friends and relatives. Tom easily found a new job and settled back into his old life again. Sue found readjusting to life in North America a little harder.
Now that some years have passed Tom and Sue have had the opportunity to reexamine their tentmaking experience. They now have some regrets and wonder about what they did.
First of all, they are excited and glad they did it. They found the time ministering among other expatriate workers challenging and exciting. They had grown a lot spiritually. They are however, regretful, that they had little or no impact on the local Muslim community. In fact, their life and ministry never touched the locals except for a few occasions where they met someone through Tom's work.
Sometimes Tom wonders if he really was a tentmaker like Paul, or if he just had an overseas job.
7 THE TENTMAKING TRAP
The story of Tom and Sue is typical of many tentmakers. While they enjoyed what they were doing, and saw fruit from their labors, their ministry did not directly touch or influence the local people or church. As a ministry experience, it was good. As far as being involved in building the kingdom of God among the nationals of the country they worked in, it was a failure.
Without realizing it Tom and Sue had fallen into what I call "the tentmaker trap." Simply put, the tentmaker trap is placing so much emphasis on getting into a country that one doesn't prepare and isn't qualified to adequately serve the Lord in building the kingdom among the local people. The problem isn't getting into countries, the problem is getting well trained and equipped workers into closed countries. Literally thou- sands of tentmakers have entered closed countries only to discover that they didn't know what to do, or couldn't do what they wanted to do once they were there.
Our Goal
Part of the problem stems from our misunderstanding of what tentmakers are and aren't, and the biblical role of missionaries or those sent from a church to spread the gospel.
In this book we will attempt to briefly examine the development of the "modern missionary" and reexamine missions at it's biblical roots to try and determine what God is calling us to do. Tentmaking is undoubtedly a biblical concept. However, when mixed with concepts and beliefs that have been molded by history for centuries, these basic concepts have become muddled and unclear.
For many modern day evangelicals, the concept of missions is firmly entrenched in their world view. Most of us accept missions as needed to reach out to those who have never heard the good news of the gospel.
8 Few of us question the fervent call for more money and personnel to be thrown into fulfilling the Great Commission. Along with our acceptance of the Great Commission, is our acceptance of the growing myriad of mission organizations. Few evangelicals today are questioning the need for, or the strategies employed by, these burgeon- ing societies. Missions deal with difficult cultural and sociological issues in far off distant places, and their actions and strategies are often left up to those who are more knowledgeable than ourselves.
I want to insist at the beginning that I am not trying to expose wrong doing, but rather to bring to light what might be considered by some, in certain places, as a different, and perhaps, even better way of bringing the Gospel to the unreached.
Secondly, I want to reexamine some of our practices in the light of the Scriptures, and try to discern what sort of principles the Bible lays down for methods and strategies of evangelism.
Thirdly, I want to rediscover the first century art of using professional skills along with ministry skills. This is commonly thought of a "tentmaking" in today's modern missionary thought. I want to make no mistake at the beginning, this is a book about the biblical and practical basis of tentmaking. I am also convinced that tentmaking is a biblical and practical method of evangelism in all areas of the world, not just those areas labeled as Restricted Access Nations.
It is my belief that tentmaking was a natural form of missions in the first century of the church and only in the last several hundred years has the "professional missionary" emerged as the approved method of doing missionary work.
It is my wish that through this little book we might again examine some of our missions thought and practice compared against the light of scripture, seeking to learn from the Lord what is applicable to us and our place of ministry in His Kingdom.
9 Chapter Two AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE
A Bit of History Missiologists tell us that we are living during the time of the "modern missionary movement."
Missiologists also tell us that we have passed through various stages or waves of missionary endeavor in the past. Although different missiologists label these stages differently, all seem to be in agreement that we are now living in the time of the "modern missionary movement." (One wonders what the next missionary movement will be called.)
J. Herbert Kane writes in his A Global View of Christian Missions: "If western colonialism is said to have begun with Vasco da Gama, Protestant missions may be said to have been launched by William Carey. What Luther was to the Protestant Reformation, Carey was to the Christian missionary movement. Though there were mission- aries before him, it is altogether fitting that William Carey should be known as the father of modern missions."
After repeated attempts to challenge the Christians of his day, Carey sailed for India on June 13, 1793, where he would give forty years of unbroken service. Carey's enthusiasm, and persistent letters and messages to Christians at home saw the beginning of eight separate missionary organizations within a few short years.
Carey's example excited and provided a pattern for service that had not been available to young people previously. It wasn't long before these new ideas and opportunities sparked the imagination of youth in Britain and America. 10 Within a few short years, a number of pioneer missionaries had gained notoriety and had established certain patterns for missionary service that would persist for centuries to come. Names like Adoniram Judson, Robert Moffat, Mary Slessor, David Livingstone, Samuel Crowther, and Robert Morrison all became household words during the 1800's.
The Modern Missionary Movement received another tremendous boost, from the founding of the China Inland Mission by Hudson Taylor. This one man, set the pattern for the whole of the faith mission movement to follow. Along with this, his two volume biography has been a source of inspiration to pastors and missionaries all over the world.
Following on the footsteps of these great missionary pioneers, stu- dents in Europe and America were spurred and challenged to join the missionary cause. These students became part of what is called the Student Volunteer Movement. Groups like the "Cambridge Seven" further sparked the imaginations of Christian youth, and the ranks of young volunteers swelled.
Many of these early missionaries became pioneers themselves open- ing even more fields of service. Men like Charles Studd, a world famous sportsman, moved from the China Inland Mission to start his own mission organization that pioneered work in Central Africa, South America, and the Middle East.
Behind these new leaders massed more volunteers turning the flood into an avalanche. The modern missionary movement had arrived. And now, almost a century later the figures are staggering. Since the days of William Carey over two hundred missionary societies have been formed from western nations and hundreds more from third world nations. Today's missionary task force now surpasses thou- sands of missionaries serving in almost every country of the world.
11 Some Questions: The incredible growth of missions from 1793 until the present has prompted the question of: "What preempted this tremendous interest and opportunity for missions which was unparalleled in history before it?".
As one examines secular history, one event looms larger than most others. It is that of colonialism. The major powers in the West had discovered vast lands around the world, yet unclaimed by other Western powers, many of them available simply for the taking. Western development had far out striped the rest of the world, providing them with means and the will to dominate vast areas of land with limited resources. The armies of Britain, Spain, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, and others quickly sailed to distant shores to occupy and exploit these new territories. While these political powers were busy in occupying and colonizing these areas, the problem of the dealing with aboriginal peoples faced them.
As these aboriginal peoples were commonly called heathen, pagan and even barbaric, little appreciation was given for their culture and society. These early colonialists took the view that all aboriginal people should enter into their western culture and religion. The problem of civilizing these aboriginal peoples was often placed in the hands of the church. Catholic nations encouraged the Catholic church to work among the nationals to teach them the fear of God and the respect for authority. Protestant nations turned to their churches for help in civilizing the aboriginals as well.
The responsibility for overseeing the affairs of the aboriginal peoples in the vast lands that had been colonized, created an opportunity for, and even a need for many missionary recruits. As these missionaries flocked to the field, they brought with them strong nationalistic feelings.
It is interesting to notice that many of the very early pioneer missionaries were also agents of the colonial powers they worked
12 under. Men like David Livingstone and others were major promoters of colonialism and British authority. Tim Jeal in his biographical account of David Livingstone writes "Livingstone, with his mission- ary aims and his almost messianic passion for exporting British values and culture, seemed to his successors to have provided the moral basis for massive imperial expansion."
This blend of missionary zeal and colonialistic drive greatly colored the efforts of these early missionaries. Many of the practices they established were adopted in various ways and forms by those who followed them.
Some missionaries however, did not see themselves as agents of the colonial powers to bring civilization to the barbarians, but rather they saw themselves as ordained of God to preach the Gospel to those who had never heard. They saw themselves as seizing an opportunity that God had brought about and boldly proclaimed their message. It wasn't long before the missionary societies out grew their colonialistic grandparents, and started to launch out into other territories. Protes- tant missionaries began entering unexplored areas, as well as territory traditionally considered Catholic.
As colonialism waned, the modern missionary movement marched onward. The cry was changed from civilizing the aboriginal to helping them establish themselves. Eventually the concept of "self-propaga- tion and supporting churches" was developed and finally "indigenous churches and mission agencies" in the foreign field.
As one steps back today and examines many modern missionary concepts and practices, one cannot but notice how many of these seem to have their roots in those first early colonial missionaries. Lets examine together a one of these issues in the light of their history, and ask ourselves if this issue is based on scriptural teaching or simply historical practice.
13 Missionary Compounds Trivial though it may seem, the missionary compound has it roots among these early colonialists. As these new settlers arrived in a foreign country, they soon discovered that it was necessary to create an enclosed place where they could live in relative comfort, sur- rounded by their own culture. These early compounds gradually grew in size, with missionaries spending more and more time planting trees, gardens, etc. The compound became the center for missionary activity, with many activities attached to it. Often the church met on the compound, with medical centers, and schools attached to them. As help was needed to maintain these compounds, local natives were employed as watchmen, cleaners, gardeners, etc.
During the last twenty years missionary compounds have blossomed into little pieces of home culture set in the shabbiness of third world squalor. Some of the missionary compounds I have visited contain beautiful landscaped yards, western bungalows, and paved streets. Mission organizations often run stores for their missionaries where western goods are available. Missionary children play in playgrounds and attend their own schools, separated and often quite oblivious to the world outside of compound walls.
As I have talked to missionaries in various places, I believe that often none of this was intentional. While the first compounds were designed to protect a small bit of isolated western culture, the modern mission- ary compound, unknowingly has fallen into this same trap. As new missionary recruits arrive on the field and begin assimilating their new culture and life style, they soon busy themselves into improving life on the compound. Over the years compounds have been gradually upgraded by well meaning missionaries and short term workers. I have seen compounds with their own electrical, water and solar energy supplies. Homes and offices decked out with computer equipment, video equipment, and the latest in technology. Some missionaries obtain the latest in videos, magazines and books from home. Containers of western food and clothing are shipped in to help the missionary live.
14 And so, by continuing to maintain their western culture, many missionaries are isolated from the people and culture around them. Many struggle to learn the language, because much of their time is taken up with maintaining the compound.
When missionaries do venture out from behind compound walls, they often find people have warped views of them. One village I visited, strongly felt that the missionaries were living very immoral life-styles within their compound. They had arrived at this conclusion by putting two and two together. First of all, by viewing secular western films, they had realized the terrible moral condition of all Westerners. Secondly, these Westerner isolated themselves behind closed walls. Surely the only reason for this, was that they were hiding something, which was obviously their decadent immoral life-style.
While this may have been, and hopefully was, an isolated case, it demonstrates how a small convenience developed by early missionar- ies whose' intention was to introduce western culture and religion into a heathen area, has slowly grown into a practice used by many missionaries in many situations.
As a contrast to this, we discover in the scriptures, that Paul emphasized identification with the people he was ministering amongst. Paul endeavored to become all things to all people in order to reach them for Christ. (I Cor 9:22)
FOUR PHENOMENA IN MISSIONS HISTORY a. Professional missionaries
The early church ordained and send out the first missionaries. On closer examination though, we find that the first missionary sending churches were a far cry from today's mission agencies. The workers were ordained and sent out, often with little specific training for their task. In researching the matter I have failed to discover any place
15 where the church sent any regular financial support. In fact in many cases the newly planted churches sent money back to the poor saints in the sending churches!
As we look at history we discover the emergence of the professional missionary, trained and sponsored by a mission agency, is a relatively new concept which has developed over the years. Many of the original workers were simply clergy assigned to overseas parishes. Hudson Taylor's discovery of a world waiting for the Gospel changed all of that. Young men and women, sometimes poorly trained but well meaning joined the ranks of the clergy in moving into full time service for the cause of the gospel. Many of these were not supported by the established church denominations of the time. The opportunities for overseas service were far greater than many of the denominations could grasp. b. Faith Missions Another phenomena is the emergence of agencies called "faith mis- sions". Many of these were the vision of a sole individual who had no support of a denomination at home, and so ventured to the foreign field, trusting in God to supply whatever needs developed, outside of the support of denominational budgets. Over time, these faith mis- sions developed their strategies and fund raising techniques, until we have today the status quo in missions, where missionaries spend time, often several years after their training raising finances so they can proceed to the foreign field. c. Open Nations As one traces back the roots of many of the older missionary societies, one discovers the original permission for them to enter these "foreign nations" was often given by the occupying colonial power. Titles for land, buildings for mission stations, schools and hospitals were often given by the colonial power. In some instances colonial governments and armies turned over buildings to missionaries as they no longer needed them.
16 The third phenomena was the concept of open and closed countries. Many nations around the world welcomed missionaries to their shores. Visas were granted to missionaries to preach, teach, and help the people. However, as we have noted earlier, these visas were often not granted by the national people, but by the colonialistic powers that occupied the land. Thus these nations governed originally by colonialistic powers became the "open nations of the world." Other nations, who were resistant to colonialism, were labeled closed nations.
Missions have flourished among open nations. Christians in the west were inundated with information about these open nations. Mission- aries returned to show their pictures and challenge even more young men and women to return and help them. Many Christians were well acquainted with situations in these open countries. However, the closed nations of the world were hidden from the attention of the average Christian. d. Closed Nations The fourth phenomena we can see is that many open countries are becoming closed. The age of colonialism is long passed. Independence has been granted to many countries. As independence arrived many nations closed the doors to missions. Some closed it immediately while others have done so over the process of time.
Many of these nations have closed their doors to missionaries, seemingly without notice. As missions now encourage national churches to seek self sufficiency, these churches are registering as national entities, and they have now become the sponsoring bodies for missionaries.
Missions with a long standing in a nation have often had opportunity to register with the government and continue with their work, although new religious organizations often find the doors closed to their entry.
In some nations, the door for missions has swung tightly closed.
17 Appendix F gives a list of 1993 Restricted Access Countries, listing them from Totally Restricted to emerging restriction.
It is interesting to notice that many missionary agencies remain working in the countries they were originally established in and they have never risen to the challenge of trying to enter the closed nations around them.
Colonialism undoubtedly opened many nations to the preaching of the Gospel. It is as if God allowed a window to be opened onto the world for a short period of time and then a hundred odd years later the door begins to swing shut. As the doors swing shut, mission agencies are scrambling to find their place. Some have ceased to exist, some have amalgamated with others, and some have conceded to working in their established places. However, a few of these agencies have decided to face the difficult challenge of reaching the unreached behind seemingly closed doors.
In the 1940's, Lesley Brierly of WEC International produced a map of Dark Spots which he promoted in many churches, showing areas of the world that had not been penetrated by anyone. He then set about pointing the direction of his mission to penetrating these areas.
Three Men who Changed Mission History
Perhaps the greatest step in opening the eyes of the world to the needs of these "closed" areas was done by three men working unrelated to each other: Patrick Johnstone of WEC International, Ralph Winter of the US Center for World Missions and Christy Wilson of the US State Department.
Patrick Johnstone
In the early in 1970's WEC International commissioned Patrick Johnstone to do a thorough investigation of the world to discover all the unevangelized parts of the world so WEC could target these areas
18 for advance. This research was later compiled into a book called Operation World. This book opened the eyes of many mission leaders to the many nations of the world yet untouched by the modern missionary movement. Since it's first issue, Operation World has slowly been gaining the attention of many professional Christians. It provided the information that many needed to see and be challenged by the needs of the world.
Ralph Winter
Ralph Winter is the founder of the US Center for World Missions which developed the concept of unreached people and hidden people groups. He gave mission leaders the basic tools to identify groups of people, even in the countries called open, who had been missed by the message of the gospel. The US Center for World Missions began to research each of the unreached people groups, hoping that some day a mission society would gain interest in them and attempt to reach them.
Christy Wilson
Around the same time, Christy Wilson, who was pioneering a work in Afghanistan, a country considered "very closed," revealed a practical approach to gaining entry for service into these "closed nations." His book, Today's Tentmaker launched what could now be called the modern tentmaker movement.
Christy Wilson discovered that where the traditional missionary was not welcome, Christian businessmen and tradesmen were. Missionar- ies could train themselves as tradesmen and businessmen and enter these nations to work and evangelize.
More importantly, Christy Wilson grasped the concept that missions need not be restricted to the clergy or professional missionary, but that Christian businessmen could now participate in the Great Commis- sion along side of missionaries doing what he termed "tentmaking".
19 Conclusion Is the modern missionary movement simply a glitch in history? Did God allow a specific period of time when colonialism would opened a door to allow foreign missions to enter? If so, can mission agencies now adapt themselves to a situation where missionary visas are impossible to obtain in most quarters? Can the church rediscover how it did missions before the age of colonialism? The answers we seek will not be in history, but in the teaching and models given to us in the Scriptures. Once we have established some Biblical models, we can then go through history and seek to understand how these models were applied, and how missions continued to move forward, even when there were no "mission agencies" and "open nations" passing out missionary visas.
20 Chapter Three Rediscovering Biblical Models
To begin with, when we examine the scriptures we discover two models of missionary service. The first is recognized in the apostle Paul who is undoubtedly the best known missionary of the early church. Most of us have developed a picture in our minds of the Apostle Paul traveling from place to place, preaching & teaching, appointing elders and then moving on.
However, the picture given to us in Acts chapter eighteen, and hinted at in several other places, especially the book of First Thessalonians, is quite different.
Acts eighteen accounts to us the ministry of Paul at Corinth. Soon after Paul arrived in Corinth, he visited Priscilla and Aquila and "because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them." (Acts 18:3). The picture of Paul spending all his time preach- ing and teaching is shattered. Paul, the missionary sent out from the church at Antioch, is involved in secular employment. Paul is actually spending his days making tents, and his evenings and weekends ministering to people. Along with this we have the ministry of Priscilla and Aquila. While they may have shared a profession in common, and happily cooperated in the work of the gospel, their lives and ap- proaches to ministry were quite different than Pauls.
1. Pauline Tentmaking For Paul tentmaking was a strategy of ministry that included two important aspects. First, it provided financial support for his ministry of preaching and teaching. "Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship," Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica, "we 21 worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you." (1 Thess. 2:9). Secondly it was Paul's way of demonstrating a practical servant life style to his pagan listeners. "You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 21:34-35).
Because he did not want to be a financial burden to the church and because he believed that hard work was best taught by example, he worked at his profession, tentmaking. But when he had a choice and the means, preaching and teaching full-time were his chosen modus operandi. Tentmaking was only a financial means to a ministry end.
Paul therefore had the following ministry traits: - he was team oriented - he centered his ministry around religious and educational institutions (synagogues and schools) - he backed his lessons up with personal real life demonstrations - he was highly flexible and mobile - he ministered cross culturally in Asia Minor, Greece, Rome and possibly Spain - he was highly trained in the scriptures and in defense of the gospel - his profession provided a source of income for full time workers - he was willing to risk his life for the gospel
These qualities have been and still are, the basis of many solid ministries around the world.
2. Priscillan tentmaking The Biblical record seems to imply that Priscilla and Aquila followed quite a different pattern. (For the sake of brevity we will refer to this pattern as Priscillan, in recognition of the leading role Priscilla apparently took in at least the ministry aspects of the model. (Besides, it provides nice alliteration when contrasted with Pauline tentmaking!).
22 Someone has said that "we don't want Christians professionals to resign and become missionaries. We want Christian professionals to surrender their profession to Jesus Christ and his mission." This Priscilla and Aquila did, and are therefore the models of much more than the financial self-sufficiency in mission that Paul was. Note the movement in this couple's life: - even Aquila's name implies a continuously cross-cultural life-style. Aquila is the Greek name of a Jew living in a Latin world. He was born and raised in Pontus (north- eastern Turkey) (Acts 18:2) and could well have been among those God fearing Jews from Pontus and elsewhere who heard the disciples' Pentecostal declaration of the wonders of God in their own languages (Acts 2:5-12). At some point he travelled to Rome from which he was expelled with his wife Priscilla by Claudius around AD 49, ostensibly "because of the Jews' continual tumults instigated by Chrestus (Christ)." (Seutonius).
From Rome, Priscilla and Aquila travelled to Corinth where they continued to practice their trade of tentmaking and provided shelter, hospitality and a means of income for Paul (Acts 18:2-3). Later they accompanied Paul to Ephesus in Western Turkey (Acts 18:18-19), where their home became a Christian place of assembly (I Cor. 16:19) and where they exercised their ministry gifts of "more adequately" teaching "a learned man with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures (Apollos)" who taught accurately but incompletely (Acts 18:24-26).
Eventually they returned to Rome where Paul refers to them as his fellow workers (Rom. 16:3) and describes them as risk-takers who served all the churches of the Gentiles (Rom. 16:4). Once again the church met in their home. While not definite, they probably returned to Ephesus to support Timothy (2 Tim. 4:19)
Priscilla and Aquila exemplify many commendable traits: - both husband and wife were fully involved in both the ministry and the marketplace. - their ministry flowed from their secular profession. - they were highly mobile and flexible.
23 - they ministered cross-culturally, ministering to both Jews and Gentiles in at least three different settings (Rome, Corinth, Ephesus). - their home became a hospitality base for both missionaries and the local body of Christ. - they had a sufficient enough grasp of the scriptures that they could disciple other Christian workers and the spiritual maturity to do it graciously. - their profession provided a source of income for Christian workers, including themselves. - they were willing to risk their lives for the sake of the gospel.
These qualities have become the basis of the rationale for tentmaking in the modern world (see Chap. 7).
3. Pauline and Priscillan models in practice. There are various ways to compare Pauline and Priscillan models. One way of considering it, is that Paul's major focus was on his calling and ministry to the Gentiles. He traveled extensively, and only used his "tentmaking skills" where they would enhance the preaching of the gospel. Priscillan tentmaking places a greater emphases on the professional skill, and the ministry that naturally develops from using it. One tentmaker summed it up by stating "It could be said that the major difference in the Pauline and Priscillan models of tentmaking is that the Pauline tentmaker looks for a job where the ministry is, where as the Priscillan tentmaker looks for ministry where the job is."
What does the contrast look like in practice? Individuals and agencies whose primary goal is church planting and evangelism will favor the Pauline model of tentmaking. Whereas other organizations placing a heavier emphasis on ministries such as help, support ministries and friendship evangelism will likely be more open to the Priscillan models.
Some western denominations see Pauline tentmaking as the answer for new or small and struggling congregations who cannot support a full-time pastor. The "church planter" is encouraged to get a job,
24 ideally part-time, through which he can supplement income from the church. As soon as the church is able, they are expected to support the pastor fully and the pastor in turn is expected to terminate other employment and give all his time to the church.
The parallel goal overseas is for Christian workers to find jobs such as teaching English which can replace or supplement support from home churches, provide visa's in countries difficult to enter, and provide life style models for the early converts. For Pauline tentmakers focussing on church planting and evangelism, the best jobs are seen to be those which take the fewest hours per week, and leave the rest for "ministry." For this reason tentmaking businesses are ideal - the tentmaker employer can assign minimum jobs to tentmakers who can have maximum ministry, with no questions asked as to what the real "work" is.
4. Integrating Ministry and Employment. Increasingly, however, the church is grasping the larger significance of the Priscillan model. Rather than being just a means to an end, Priscillan tentmaking is also seen as ministry in itself. In addition to providing a source of income for Christian workers, and a place for the church to meet, the professional activity itself becomes a model of Christ-like values and attitudes, and a springboard for ministry. Further, there is an integration of ministry and work which counter- acts what is often the bane of Pauline tentmakers' lives, ministry schizophrenia. Am I a missionary in disguise - sort of a James Bond of the foreign missions set? Am I pretending to be an engineer when really I'm an evangelist? Some Pauline tentmakers struggle with their identity and integrity.
For Paul, Priscilla and Aquila these issues didn't arise, because they were not using tentmaking as a means of access to otherwise unreachable people and places. They didn't need visas for any city they visited. While there is far more reason to be involved in tentmaking today than to "open closed doors," nevertheless that remains one of the most important purposes in many peoples minds.
25 And if visas are granted in order for us to become students, or nurses, or architects, our Christian testimony demands that we become just that. Anything less can be accused of hypocrisy and bearing false witness, especially in a country antagonistic to the gospel. If we are on a student visa, we are students - writing assignments, fulfilling requirements and completing courses of study. If you are hired as an engineer, you must be an engineer, and our Christian testimony demands that you be as good an engineer as you possibly can. Both Pauline and Priscillan tentmakers must continually strive for integ- rity.
The issue that comes up, however, is that of ministry. Pauline tentmakers will be ever looking to opportunities to share the gospel in the entire community. Their gifts and ministry will take them to many places not associated with the workplace. Paul readily ministered in the synagogues, pagan temples, schools and marketplaces. Priscillan tentmaker however, often find their ministry on project sites, in design offices and wherever else their responsibilities take them.
Does that mean that nursing or engineering are ends in themselves? Yes and no. Yes, because in the broadest sense contributing to the development and nation-building of "closed" countries is a witness to the love of Christ and can be the equivalent to giving a cup of cold water in His name. But no, because we are there to disciple the nations, teaching them to observe everything Jesus commanded us, which includes "on the job" Christianity but also worship, witness, and service through the body of Christ.
5. Occupational hazards. Both Pauline and Priscillan models have potential hazards. These hazards are not to be taken lightly for they have been the bane of all tentmakers.
Those following Paul's example may suffer Paul's experience of "hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger" (2 Cor. 6:5) as they try to find time for both employment and ministry outside of their jobs. Pauline tentmakers never have enough time for ministry. They often live with 26 the feeling that their profession robs them of quality and quantity ministry time.
However for the Priscillans there is the danger of assuming that having gotten in and making a professional contribution, the job is over. Many Priscillan tentmakers make little or no ministry impact because they have become too involved in making tents to make disciples. Only by "seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness" (Mt. 6:33) can a Priscillan tentmaker achieve the real purpose for being there - to reproduce fruit in the lives of one's colleagues and friends.
Below is a chart of some of the issues and hazards a that tentmakers face.
Issue Priscillan Pauline Professional Usually high Training in a Training professional standards. non-demanding job
Time Management Jobs often requires Ministry often long hours requires long hours
Language Employers seldom Ministry demands gives time high ability
Self Image Sees self as a Sees self as a Christian/ professional full-time minister
Self fulfillment Job satisfaction can over Ministry satisfaction can over shadow ministry shadow job satisfaction. satisfaction.
In chapter eight, Difficulties in Tentmaking," we will examine these and other hazards more closely.
6. Who is a tentmaker? If there can be such differences in models of tentmaking even in Acts 18, how are we to know what we mean by the word? That's the challenge we will tackle next. 27 7. Establishing a Definition As far as we can see from literature on the subject, the word "tentmaking" as used to describe a certain emphasis in missions was first popularized in the later 60's. However, the concept itself is as old as the church.
Those who see lay witness as the essence of tentmaking can point to Acts 8 where "all except the apostles were scattered" and "those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." Others see self-support as what defines tentmaking. Roland Allan, in pleading for a voluntary clergy, could point to many examples of clerics and even bishops in the early church who supported themselves through gainful employment. Throughout the church's history there has been a continuous strand of tentmakers though they are not always called by that name.
The list of phrases used by different writers is almost endless:
- nonprofessional missionaries - lay apostolate - lay pastor - self-supporting missionaries - bi-vocational workers - unofficial missionaries
Unfortunately, all of the names above fail to adequately express the full truth of what we are trying to communicate. The irony is that for all the expressed distaste for the word "tentmaker" it currently enjoys more widespread usage than any alternative. But what does it signify? The problem is that many people want to stuff the same turkey with very different ingredients. Or, as Alice in Wonderland was told by Humpty Dumpty, "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more or less."
Note what happens. Begin with the simplest definition: self-support- ing witness. Some feel this is too broad, because it encompasses
28 virtually all Christians who are employed and witness as opportunity presents itself. In order to add an element of planning or goal-setting, let's add "intentional": self-supporting intentional witness. But most people who are interested in tentmaking are involved in missions and see it as a missiological strategy. What if we use the word "mission- ary" in place of "intentional witness." The problem here is that closed countries by definition do not allow missionaries in, so the word should be avoided in those cases.
Another problem has to do with the phrase "self-supporting." Few tentmakers are self-sufficient in every way when "support" refers to prayer and interest as well as finance. Even those who receive income from employment often need supplemental funds from churches and friends, so at best they are partially self-supporting. Some tentmakers (usually Priscillans!) would argue that finance or self-support isn't the essential issue anyway - it is using the vehicle of a secular occupation to penetrate the marketplace that constitutes tentmaking.
So Dick Staub once defined a tentmaker as "A Christian who intentionally uses an occupation strategically to facilitate his or her ministry."
Notice two more important elements added by Staub. We are talking about men and women, and we're talking of ministry - a broader term than just witness. The Great Commission implies both evangelism ("make disciples of all nations") and on-going instruction in righ- teousness ("teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you"). A consultation of tentmakers meeting in the Middle East expressed a further concern: tentmaking is more than just a man-made strategy for reaching the nations - it is in fact a response to the call of God in the Great Commission.
In 1989 one group of those meeting at the Lausanne Congress in Manila attempted to arrive at a definition on which all could agree. Given the diversity of the group it is no surprise that they wanted to be clear that it is not just Westerners taking the gospel to the third world. 29 They defined tentmakers as "believers in all people groups who have a secular identity and who in response to God's call, proclaim Christ cross-culturally" and then added a sentence which is distinctly Priscillan in language: "Tentmakers witness with their whole lives and their jobs are integral to their work for the Kingdom of God."
Note that in the Lausanne definition there is no reference to source of income but an emphasis on the cross-cultural aspect of ministry and work. The key to the definition is the words secular identity and proclaim Christ cross-culturally.
The whole issue of tentmaking, revolves around the concept of those with a secular identity joining along side the ranks of those with a more missionary identity in working together to proclaim Christ cross- culturally. This joining together may be in areas of the world where missionaries and relief workers have primarily ministered, or in restricted access nations, where missionaries have difficulty entering.
30 Chapter Four Six Foundation Stones
Welcoming the professional Christian along side of the ranks of missionary service is not always easy. Entrenched in our thoughts are firm lines between clergy and laity, the common work person, and the high calling of a missionary. If this is true in your thinking, perhaps now is a good time to look over six foundation stones to tentmaking ministry. a) Biblical View of Work Work is far more than a "necessary evil" - it has both intrinsic value and is useful for kingdom purposes. Man was expected to work in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:25) and work is a gift from God both in creation (Ps 8) and in mission (1 Cor.2) God has ordained that through work we sustain ourselves (2 Thess. 3:6-12), serve others, (Eph. 4:28) and glorify him amongst unbelievers (1 Thess. 4:11-12)
Work is not the result of the fall but has been distorted by it (Gen. 2,3). The work place remains for the Christian both a place of great opportunity and great temptation (Mt 6). b) Theology of Lay Ministry Many people think of lay ministry as what non-ordained people do voluntarily in the church. Rather, however, we should broaden the concept to cover lay ministry both in the Church and in the world (Particularly in the work place when we are discussing tentmaking)
Biblical Concepts: A number of biblical concepts undergird our understanding that all believers have a responsibility to minister to others in the name of Christ both in the world and in the church. 31 -Calling: The church itself has a name (ekklesia lit "the called out ones") that indicates a general call to all believers to become collec- tively the body of Christ. No station in life is incompatible with God's calling (1 Cor. 7:17-24)
-Gifts: Within the body of believers the Holy Spirit has distributed gifts "to each one" for the common good (I Cor. 12:7). Biblically speaking there does not seem to be the need for some gifts to warrant "ordination", while others do not. Every Christian can partake in some form of ministry.
-Priesthood: The popular concept of the priesthood of all believers is: the mutual ministry that exists within the body of Christ, and sometimes extends to our worship and praise of God. While the Biblical content of the phrase is invariably, ministry to the nations ("peoples") in both the Old Testament (Ex. 19:5-6) and New (1 Pet 2:9-12, Rev.9-10). Paul in particular refers to the "priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God" (Rom. 15:16).
On the other hand, references to ordination in the New Testament are few and far between (The strongest being in 1 Timothy 4:14). The church tradition of recognizing certain gifts and responsibilities in the church, but not others, has tended to cloud the fact that all believers are to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, whether in word or deed. (Col.3:17) All are called to serve Christ where they are. See also Col 23:22-25, Eph. 4:4-13, I Cor. 12:22-20, I Pet. 4:10-11 And so, the job of proclaiming the Gospel to the unreached around the world, falls on the shoulders of all Christians, not just an ordained few. Surely, the Bible nowhere limits the Great Commission to just a few highly trained and well supported individuals chosen by local churches for this purpose! c) Jesus' Example While we know little of Jesus' ministry during the first 30 years of his life, it is reasonable to assume that the ministry he had was integrated with his profession (carpentry). When he assumed the role of an
32 itinerant rabbi for the last three years of his life, his ministry combined preaching and teaching with acts of mercy. (Mt 4:23, Lk 7:22). Significantly, we are told to emulate Jesus' model (Jn 17:14-18, 20- 21).
d) Jesus' Commands There is no dispute as to whether or not Jesus commanded his followers to disciple the nations. (Mt. 28:19, Jn 20:21, Acts 1:8). But the question is whether this should be done primarily by full-time professional Christian workers (Pastors, Bible Teachers, evangelists, Church planters, Missionaries) or whether all Christians are to do the job, wherever they find themselves in the world. The imagery of Mt. 5:13-14 (salt and light) argues for the latter. This is further under- scored by Paul's and Peter's teaching about employee attitudes (Eph 6:5-9), I Pet 2:9-10), 12, 18-21). It is worth noting here that Jesus' words in Mt. 28:19 begin with a command to make disciples, and not a command to go. It says literally, "as you go, make disciples" as if his assumption was that his people were already on the go and needed only be challenged to disciple the nations in the course of their normal activities. e) Old Testament Examples Peter Hammond has pointed out that 75% of all Biblical characters are lay people (those who are neither prophet, priest, or pastor). When we narrow the focus to those of God's people who functioned as his representatives in a cross-cultural setting in the Old Testament, the preponderance of lay people is striking:
Character Profession Cultural Setting Abraham Cattle rancher Canaan, Egypt (Gen 12-25) Daniel Senior civil Servant Persia Deborah Judge Canaan (Judges 4,5) Esther Queen Persia (Esther) Ezra Secretary of State Persia (Ezra) Gideon Judge Midian (Judges 6-8) Job Noble Bashan (Edom) Job
33 Character Profession Cultural Setting Joseph Steward, Vizier Egypt (Gen. 38-50) Mordecai Vizier Persia (Esther) Joshua Military Commander Canaan (Joshua) Moses Royal Prince Egypt (Exodus) Naomi Homemaker/wife Moab (Ruth) Nehemiah Cupbearer Persia (Nehemiah) Unnamed Slave-girl Aramaea (II Kings 5:2-6)
By contrast, those with religious vocations who were used cross culturally in the Old Testament are:
Character Vocation Significance Aaron Priest Egypt (Ex. 6 ) Amos * Prophet Samaria (Amos) Elisha Prophet Philistia (2 Kings 4-8-37) Ezekiel Prophet/Priest Babylon (Ezekiel) Jeremiah Prophet/Priest Egypt (Jeremiah1:5,43-51) Jonah Prophet Assyria (Jonah) Miriam Prophetess Egypt (Ex 2) Zechariah Prophet.Priest Babylonia (Zechariah) * Amos originally was a shepherd and silviculturist). e) New Testament Examples The following people are identified primarily by their "secular" vocations but played an important part in the expansion of the young church:
Character Vocation Significance Pricilla & Aquila Tentmakers Teachers, Church hosts (Acts 18) Ethiopian Eunuch Chancellor of African convert the exchequer (Acts 8:26-39) Lydia Business woman First European Convert (Acts 16:13-15) Luke Doctor Paul's companion, gospel writer (Luke, & Acts)
34 Philip, Stephen & Servers Responsible for the others initial expansion of the church outside of Jerusalem.
Paul Stevens points out that in Acts 20:13-38) Paul is handing over the work at Ephesus to tentmakers (verses 34-35).
35 Chapter Five History of Tentmaking
Having examined the Biblical record of non-professional missionar- ies, lets continue through history, tracing how the use of "tentmaking" extended the Kingdom of God. a) Early Centuries 100-300 AD We have only very fragmentary evidence for how the church advanced after the apostolic age but the earliest Christian communities seem to have appeared first in the commercial centers of the Roman Empire, suggesting that merchants and artisans were responsible for the spread of the church immediately following the apostolic age. E. M. Blaiklock notes in his book "The Archaeology of the New Testa- ment," that early Christians had made impressions on Ceasars household, and had infiltrated secular society very deeply. Roman legions also played a part, although the number of Christians among them was insignificant until the time of Constantine.
Roland Allen in Appendix B to The Case for the Voluntary Clergy argues on the basis of many examples, that early church leaders supported themselves by gainful employment rather than by church salaries. For example in the second book of the Apostolic Constitu- tions (a very early document) the apostles urge the young people of the church to follow their example: "For some of us are fishermen, some tentmakers, some husbandmen, that so we may never be idle."
Zeno, Bishop of Majuma (Gaza) at the end of the fourth century was praised because "...by pursuing his trade of weaving linen (he) continued to earn the means of supplying his own wants, and of
36 providing for others. He never deviated from this conduct till the close of this life, although he exceeded all other priests of that province in age and although he presided over the people and property of the largest church."
Similarly Spyridon, the bishop of Trimithus (in Cyprus) was a shepherd before his consecration as a bishop and continued his work as a shepherd after consecration during the reign of Constantine.
By the fourth and fifth century, the spread of Christianity was the responsibility of bishops. Interestingly, missionary monks taught various skills (cultivation, fish farming, stone construction, carpet weaving, and other small industries) and the civilization that Chris- tianity brought was no doubt part of pagan motivation to convert to Christianity. b) Moravians 1732 Of all the groups in history which used a tentmaking mode of mission, the Moravians have been the most persistent and consistent. Their origins in the fifteenth century and their subsequent worldwide expansion from the early eighteenth century is chronicled by William Danker in Profit for the Lord (Erdmans, 1971)
Their early benefactor Count Zinzendorf was schooled at Halle - a complex of school, charitable foundation and businesses founded by Francke who "knew how to combine faith and calculation, Christian shrewdness and true piety in a masterful fashion" (p. 18). In 1732, the first two missionaries sent overseas (Island of St. Thomas) were supported by one of them who was working as a carpenter. By 1747, of 400 inhabitants in the parent community at Hernhut, 56 were "absent in the service of the church... The same artisans who were the mainstay of the communal economy were also the source of mission- ary volunteers." (p.28). In 1900 the Moravians boasted of one missionary for every 60 members.
The Moravians founded the Basel Mission Trading Company which
37 was "committed to the principle that mission and business are to be distinguished but not separated from each other" (p.63). Trade and mission became partners under the Moravians in Labrador (1752), Greenland, Surinain (1735), Africa (1737), USA, India (1834). They introduced cocoa to Africa and khaki to the world. "The commercial efforts were ... part and parcel of the real mission work, not merely an appendage to it. They provided a graphic illustration in daily affairs of the power of the gospel at work in the hearts of Europeans and Africans .. The lay missionaries built a solid reputation for depend- able Christian Character..."(p.99).
Danker comments, "If the example of the Moravians had been studied more carefully by other Christians, it is possible that the businessman might have retained his honoured place within the expanding Chris- tian world mission beside the preacher, teacher, and physician." (p.73) This small statement carries great weight, and we will examine some of its' implications in the next chapter under the heading "Demonstrating Christian Business Principles." c) Dennis E. Clark 1943 Unfortunately, during the founding of the modern missionary move- ment, much of the involvement of secular people in missions was lost, due to the great emphasis put upon the open door provided by the era of colonialism. However, 1943 changed this.
One year earlier Dennis had applied for a businessman's visa for Afghanistan and it had finally been granted. After traveling by bus from Peshawar to Kabul he established the Central Asia Trading Association (CATA) and began exporting dried fruit and importing Philip's bicycles and Singer sewing machines. Prominent on his desk was a copy of the Persian New Testament which he happily opened to any who asked. That ultimately was his undoing. The government used the testimony of pseudo-seekers to expel Dennis from Afghani- stan after only one month of residence. But the end had not come, for Dennis Clark had sparked the imagination of other would-be mission- aries to Afghanistan and CATA continued to flourish under other tentmakers. 38 Eventually its profits were used to establish MIK in Lahore which continues to today to be the only Christian publisher in Pakistan. Subsequently a new wave of tentmaker educators from the USA, entered Afghanistan and eventually the International Afghan Mission was born. This agency continues to be a vehicle of service for Christian professionals to the people of Afghanistan "in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ." d) Christy Wilson 1960's For many missionaries, tentmaking came to the fore front of missiological thought with the publication of Christy Wilson's book "Today's Tentmakers." (See Page 26)
Inspired by Dennis E. Clark, Christy Wilson pioneered a work in Afghanistan, and revealed a practical approach to gaining entry for service into "closed nations." He published the first modern book that taught that where the traditional missionary was not welcome, Christian businessmen and tradesmen were. He suggested that mis- sionaries could train themselves as tradesmen and businessmen and enter these nations to work and evangelize.
More importantly, Christy Wilson grasped the concept that missions need not be restricted to the clergy or professional missionary, but that Christian businessmen could now participate in the Great Commis- sion along side of missionaries doing what he termed "tentmaking". e) First Wave: Individuals and Missions 1960-1990 Tentmaking in the nineteen sixties and seventies began with a trickle and then grew into a wave. Many professionals, encouraged by Christy's book, began to see a new purpose in their role as professional businessmen overseas. More missions minded professionals joined the ranks, and the modern age of tentmaking began.
At the same time as the awakening of the professional world, a number of mission organizations took up the challenge. These organizations
39 where focused on two different areas of the world. Communism and Islam were responsible for keeping the doors closed to many nations. Mission agencies with an interest in countries of these natures began to look at tentmaking as a means of getting workers visa's.
The stress put on these early mission organizations was tremendous. Most of these established missions had firmly entrenched methods of handling finances, recruitment, training, and field matters. Some dabbled in tentmaking, only to find that it did not mesh with their existing structure. Only a few mission organizations weathered this struggle and gave tentmaking a part in their planning and strategy.
At the same time, a host of new organizations sprung into being. Seeing the opportunities and not having the burden of established procedures they attempted to mobilize tentmakers for these closed countries. One of the struggles that plagued these new mission organizations was that they often did not have the breadth of support networks needed nor the depth of experience to avoid making many mistakes and ill fated-attempts. As both old and new missions struggled, many tentmakers became disillusioned. f) Tentmaking in Crisis 1980's If the first wave of tentmakers moved forward in the sixties and seventies, then the first wave of returning tentmakers appeared in the eighties.
Literally hundreds of tentmakers began returning to their home countries. Each had a different story. Each story told of successes and failures. The one outstanding commonality between them all was a sense of failure. They had developed successful careers, they had seen fellow expatriates come to Christ, but few of them had made any significant impact among the national people.
The news however was not all bad. Among the returning tentmakers, and among the tentmakers still overseas were a small but determined band of more successful tentmakers. Their stories were different.
40 They had developed a ministry among nationals, and some of them had played a significant part in seeing advances for the kingdom of God. Along with this good news, was the encouraging optimism of mission organizations. Many of the traditional organizations had continued to wrestle with the problems of tentmaking, and had worked out intriguing solutions. Along side of this, many of the newer missions had developed the networks and had in place leaders with experience, spiritual depth and courage. g) The Second Wave 1990's As one views tentmaking today, we can be encouraged. Many of the initial problems and pitfalls have been identified, and many mission groups have discovered workable solutions.
It is encouraging to see a new wave of tentmakers moving to and arriving in foreign countries. Many of these new tentmakers are better prepared for the tentmaking traps that will present themselves.
41 Chapter Six RATIONALE FOR TENTMAKING
Interest in tentmaking has been on the rise since the 1960's. Interest- ingly not everyone interested in tentmaking is interested in it for the same reasons. In this chapter we will examine some of these reasons and try to better understand the various trends in the tentmaking world. a) Opening Closed Doors The most obvious and probably the most common reason why mission agencies have become interested in tentmaking, is simply to allow their missionaries to enter or to remain working in nations that are closed to the traditional missionary.
As one views the world today, we quickly realize that the number of countries that remain open to traditional missionaries are shinking in number quickly. Also, most of the world's remaining unreached peoples are living in countries closed to traditional missionary societies. (See appendix F)
Christy Wilson, in his book "Today's Tentmakers" used as his background, the country of Afghanistan, which is closed to traditional missionaries. When one thinks in terms of what has been called the 10/40 window, the statistics quickly become clear. One fifth of the world lives in China, closed to traditional missionaries. Another fifth of the world lives in Muslim nations, closed to traditional missionar- ies. Another fifth of the world lives in other nations that restrict the access of missionaries. Truly, if we are to take the Great Commission personally, we must admit that tentmaking is probably the most viable
42 means for Christian workers to enter these "Restricted Access Na- tions." b) Mobilizing the Laity There is a certain segment of the Christian Church that is interested in seeing ministry passed down from the professional clergy to the layman. The argument is made that all in the church are called to take the gospel to the lost, and all are equipped. Therefore everyone is a missionary. And in the same sense, everyone is a tentmaker.
The argument assumes that every Christian businessman can play the role of a tentmaker and that no particular calling or cross-cultural emphasis need be made. While this is true, it only serves to muddle an already complex issue. Everyone agrees that the Great Commis- sion is for all. Everyone agrees that Christian businessmen and professionals everywhere need to be involved in taking the gospel to the lost.
However for the purpose of world wide evangelism, we believe the role of tentmakers must be seen as a separate and integral part to world missions. We believe that God does call particular business people and professionals to move to specific locations to be used in spreading the gospel.
While all Christian business people are in a sense tentmakers, there is a specific class or category for those who are called of God to specific overseas service. c) Developing a "natural" approach to evangelism In the hallowed halls of Christian academic learning, many interesting theories of evangelism have been developed and purported. One of these is that many evangelicals have had a tendency to drift together to find common support and understanding thus developing Christian ghettos and ghetto mentality. Because of this a series of teachings have arisen in evangelical circles to encourage Christians to break out of the ghettos.
43 Tentmaking has been seen by many as a role model for a "natural" approach to evangelism. Pracilla and Aquilla are seen as natural witnessers. They are seen as normal people relating to others in the normal atmosphere of the occupation.
While we don't deny that the businessman and the professional have opportunities to relate normally to others, it doesn't necessarily follow that tentmaking will generate or even provide "natural" opportunities to share the gospel.
Sharing the gospel in a natural way is made up of two components. First of all the Christian must be comfortable with his/her faith, and open and free to share and talk about it. Secondly, the Christian must be alert to opportunities that God brings about in the natural course of everyday life, and calmly take advantage of them.
Many tentmakers the world over have discovered that once they have the right job in the right place, witnessing is as difficult as it always has been (and some times much, much harder when doing it across cultures). d) Providing finance It has become obvious that missionary work today is becoming increasingly expensive. More and more mission organizations are crying for more money as the cost of maintaining a missionary in a foreign country grows higher and higher. While it is not our place here to examine all of the reasons why this is true, one sometimes questions why this must be. The cost of living in many third world countries has not grown significantly in the past few years. However, the cost of maintaining a western lifestyle in those nations has risen dramatically. Many western missionaries are finding it increasingly difficult to live in comfortable western housing, eat western food, send their children to western schools, and fill their homes with TV's, computers, VCR's and other western toys.
Along with this, many modern missionaries are demanding higher and
44 better services. Missionaries are now putting more and more money into retirement plans, returning home more frequently, using frequent furloughs to gain higher levels of academics, and asking for and receiving better education for children, and improved health plans etc.
While each of the above seem to better the life of the missionary, they often further isolate the missionary from identifying with the common people around them. While we recognize that in some cases mission- aries may find it beneficial for health reasons to live in more western surroundings, this lifestyle presented by the missionary is far beyond the reach of most of the people they work among. The secular Christian worker, who works along side of the church, can use his business or professional skills to assist local Christians and demon- strate to them a lifestyle that they may be able to understand and model. The missionary however, lives a lifestyle that no-one under- stands. They live like kings, doing no understandable labor while receiving seemingly vast sums of money from a foreign country.
As more missionary organizations raise their required levels of support, several things are happening. First of all, some denomina- tional missions are sending fewer missionaries. There simply isn't the finance available to maintain more than the load they are already carrying.
Secondly, as many missions set higher levels of support that must be raised before progressing to the field many missionary candidates are becoming discouraged. Other mission minded young people see this and are also discouraged from joining these missions.
In the midst of this "mission money madness," tentmaking is often seen as another alternative, where the missionary can earn a decent salary, educate his children, save his RRSP's, and still have some sort of ministry.
45 e) Modeling Christian business principles.
a) to developing churches One of the greatest mis-services that Western missions have ever done, is sending only evangelists and church planters to the mission field. Before we go farther, I believe we should again review the Priscillan and Pauline evangelistic role models: Paul the church planter and evangelist (and part time tentmaker) teamed up with Priscilla and Aquila, the full time business people.
Imagine the setting: Paul enters a new community. He is the first one there to proclaim the gospel message. He teaches and preaches, and people come to Christ. After some time elders are chosen, and Paul moves on. The picture is pretty, and straight forward.
But lets ask some questions. In the short time that Paul was is that city, these new converts are learning what the Christian life is like. If Paul was the only Christian there, what sort of role model did Paul become for them? Could they see in Paul what it meant to be a Christian husband and father and what a Christian home was to be like? Could they see in Paul what it meant to be a Christian business person? The answer is obviously no.
However, as Paul teamed up with Priscilla and Aquila, the picture changed. This Christian couple clearly demonstrated the role models of a Christian home, family, and business life. They knew how to balance their time, energy and resources between their work and the establishing and building of the local church. As other families came to Christ, they too learned how to balance their time, energy and resources. I firmly believe that the teaming up of a Christian evange- list and church planter, with Christian business people was the secret of the success of the early church.
In contrast, let's look to the mission field today. The small case study I would like to use, is one that is familiar to me, and demonstrates the contrast that can exist on some of our mission fields.
46 In 1913 WEC International first entered the Belgium Congo, now called Zaire. (Yes, they got their visa's from the colonial powers that controlled that area). By 1934 nine tribes had been reached and a conference with over 10,000 converts from out of these tribes was held! The success of this outreach was due to the tremendous emphasis on evangalism and church planting. Tremendous sacrifices were made on the part of the missionaries and local evangelist. And the momentum continues. Today, the WEC related church in Zaire numbers over 1400 churches! These are glorious figures to write home about! But closer examination of the situation reveals some interesting and perhaps alarming trends.
Few of the pastors of these 1400 churches are supported by the church. There simply isn't enough money to do so. The state of poverty among church members is appalling. True, the entire country is in economic chaos, but I believe there is something deeper here.
Among the Zairian Christians there is a tremendous respect and honor for evangelists. If you would ask them for examples of who are the greatest Christians in their area, all of them would be full-time evangelists and church planters. Deeper probing reveals a real uncertainty about how one can be a successful Christian and a successful business person at the same time.
As one reviews the role models lived out by the first missionaries, one realizes how they have come to this conclusion. Early missionaries were excited about the numbers of people coming to Christ. These missionaries lived out the role model of successful Christians, aban- doning care for this worlds goods, and pouring themselves into the furthering of the Kingdom of God.
If God has indeed empowered us with various gifts and abilities, it is vitally important for us to demonstrate these gifts and abilities to the new churches we are planting. How different life in Zaire would be, if some of the early missionaries had demonstrated how one could be
47 a successful and even a great Christian without having to stand behind a pulpit, or travel to distant villages to preach the gospel. Somehow, although Christian businessmen are the backbone of Christian mis- sions in the west, these same missions have neglected to take Christian businessmen along to the mission field.
As a contrast, lets compare the situation in the Middle East. Here, missionaries often enter as tentmakers. Now the situation has been reversed. Interestingly enough, many Middle Eastern churches are filled with hard working and successful business people. Many churches have members who are wealthy merchants, professionals or civil servants and are highly respected for their place and role in the church life. I cannot but marvel at some of these dear men, who a few years ago were poor refugees, and today are funding massive distri- bution of scriptures, having churches meet in their homes, and in some cases funding church building projects.
On the other hand, very few converts in the Middle East enter into a full time ministry of evangelism and church planting.
Was it an accident that Paul met Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth and decided to team up with them? I strongly feel that it was in the providence of God that Paul the evangelist and Priscilla and Aquila the business people traveled from place to place, teaching, and demonstrating the love of Christ and the life of the believer. b) to developing nations Another interesting aspect or benefit that tentmakers have, is the opportunity to demonstrate Christian principles in developing na- tions. Lets take for example, the emerging nations of the CIS. (Commonwealth of Independent States, which used to be the USSR) Many of these new nations are now trying to enter into a western styled economy. Previously the entire economy was controlled by party dictators in Moscow. When the order came to grow cotton, they grew cotton, with no regard for the climate or soil conditions. When an
48 order came to make military parts, they made military parts, even when there were few cars for people to drive.
Now today, the situation has changed. The new leaders, and the entire business world is struggling for direction. There is now no-one in Moscow telling them what to produce. Whole infastructures of industry and commerce must be created. There are almost no small industries or businesses in place to meet local needs. Corruption is rampant and people scramble to get what they can out of the chaos.
Into this situation have come a number of Christian tentmakers and business people. Many of these Christians see their presence as being two fold. First, they have opportunities to share Christ with individu- als. Secondly, they have an opportunity to work towards the redemption of the entire economic and social structure of the nation. They see themselves as salt and light to nations that have lived in extreme darkness. Their presence, and participation in the commu- nity at all levels, not just a religious one, can bring change and structure out of ensuing chaos. Their lives can demonstrate how one can be a successful business person without bribing and evading laws. Their success can and is encouraging others to build the community, with care about others, rather than just seizing what they can for themselves.
Truly, tentmakers can make an influence on a nation in many different ways. One wonders if the land of Zaire, with it's many Christians, would have been a different place economically, if Christian business people had entered with the evangelist seventy years ago, and demonstrated to them the Christian principles of business and caring for the church and the community.
49 Chapter Seven THE TENTMAKING TRAPS
Having looked at the positive side of tentmaking it is now time to look at the many traps that can waylay the would-be tentmaker.
As we mentioned in Chapter Five tentmaking has entered a time of crisis in many quarters. Many of those who attempted tentmaking in the last decade or two have returned with stories of how difficult is was, and how little they accomplished. While the reasons for this are myriad, we hope to look at a number of the difficulties that tentmakers face, and at ways they might be remedied. Most tentmakers will only face a few of these problems, but being aware of some of the pitfalls will surely help us in avoiding them in the future, or at least being prepared to deal with them in our situation.
We would also like to strongly suggest that tentmakers work in small teams, where a Priscillan tentmaker works hand in hand with a small group of Pauline tentmakers. In this way, the Priscillan tentmaker can provide things like finance and a large home to be used for meetings and still feel fulfilled in his/her ministry. Priscillan tentmakers on their own, will feel tremendously frustrated as pressure is on them to be involved in evangelism instead of using their gifts, such as helps, encouragement, and teaching, etc.
In this chapter we will list a number of traps that tentmakers have commonly fallen into. While few tentmakers have had trouble with all of them, most of these traps have been sufficient enough to cause tentmakers to return home. a) Language and Culture Learning language, and grasping the intricate beauty of the local
50 culture is one of the greatest downfall for tentmakers. Learning language takes time. A person studying Arabic, Chinese or Japanese usually needs two to three years of full time study in order to have a good enough grasp to adequately share the gospel in a meaningful way. Few employers offer time for this kind of study.
In the early 1980's I met a young couple in a Middle Eastern country who had come to work as tentmakers. They had worked in that country for two years, and had never spent any quality time in the home of a local person, or had any local friends. They had found employment with a large international corporation, and were working in an office surrounded by other westerners. They lived in a company compound, surround by westerners. After some time of discussion, they agreed to leave their work, and entered into a full time two year course of language and culture acquisition. Today, they have re- entered the work force in a job where he is the only foreigner in the company.
Language is the key to sharing the Gospel. Living our lives is not enough. Words are important. But just as the compound situation mentioned in chapter two created a wrong impression with the village, something in your life could easily offend the people around you. It is vitally important that tentmakers learn language and culture. b) Time Management Time management is often a real problem for tentmakers. Pauline tentmakers struggle with this the most, but Priscillan tentmakers also must face the issue.
First of all, life in another culture usually takes far more time than it does in our own culture. One must learn and adapt to new ways of living, shopping, and interacting with people. Many nations have a great deal of red tape that must be worked through. A simple thing to us, like getting a drivers license may take weeks of hard work to accomplish.
51 Often, tentmakers work hard all day at their job, and then must travel to two or three stores to purchase food, spend an hour or more preparing it, and then spend some time with their families. Time for language learning, visiting, etc., is hard to set aside, especially if one has an employer that requires ten to twelve hours of work each day.
A compounding issue, is that once the tentmaker finds a job where he or she has excellent exposure with local people, pressure from work can slowly grow. I remember one tentmaker who was elated that he had obtained a job as an engineer with a small company building greenhouses. He was the only foreigner worker there, and he was responsible for designing and overseeing the quality of the construc- tion however as time went on his enthusiasm waned. Over time the employees discovered that he would take responsibility and slowly they grew lax in their work. After a while the tentmaker was spending longer and longer hours on the job, until he finally felt burned out and left.
Finding a balance between demonstrating our Christian work ethics, and managing our time is often difficult. c) Lacking a Support Network Mission agencies provide support services for their missionaries. Home staff train them, send out finances, send letters to supporters, recruit new workers, and provide encouragement, on site monitoring, and pastoral care. Tentmakers working outside of a mission agency must do all these things themselves.
One of the first pitfalls that tentmakers fall into in this area, is thinking that this is not a big area for concern at all. They do not need to raise support (if their job pays well), their company provides some on site training, and they are part of a loving concerned church.
Once on the field however, the situation can change. First of all, the loving concerned church may not fully understand tentmaking, and all that is involved in this venture. It is a common occurrence in our
52 churches for a couple to get a job in another city and move away. Soon that couple is forgotten. The same happens to countless tentmakers who have not spent time carefully communicating to their church that they are really missionaries, and should be considered such by the church, even though they will not be needing the financial support of the church. Time must be spent in finding and communicating with prayer supporters. This is absolutely vital to any outreach ministry, especially in a closed and difficult land.
Then, the company you work for, may offer little training in the way of language and culture acquisition. You may find that spiritually you are alone, wanting Christian fellowship. Interest in you, from folks at home may dwindle, and you find yourself increasingly discouraged. A new pastor may arrive in your church, the missions committee will have changed members, and your contact with home seems hopeless.
Tentmakers should spend time before leaving for the field developing prayer groups and partners, communicating their vision and projected ministry with church members, and putting in place some sort of monitoring and pastoral care system. Reports should be sent to someone. Understanding people at home should be ready to read and counsel the tentmaker when he or she pours out their feelings and seeks Godly advice. d) Fellowship on the Field One of the most exciting elements of being a tentmaker, can be venturing into an unreached area and being one of the first Christians on the scene. One of the difficulties with this, is that Christian fellowship is often very hard to find, especially with local believers. You may find other Christian business people in that country, but very possibly they have little or no vision to reach out to the local populace, because of their lack of language.
Isolated and alone, some tentmakers have withdrawn from the community around them, spending their time watching videos, read- ing books, and exploring the local tourist spots. Since no one is
53 monitoring them, they slowly slip into the role of a Christian simply working overseas. Once this happens they may soon feel unfulfilled and return home. It is for this reason that we would suggest that tentmakers work in teams, where members of the team can encourage one another, and provide Godly fellowship. e) Handling the Expatriate Community One of the greatest pressures on a tentmaker can be the local expatriate community. Once a tentmaker is surrounded by strange people, language and culture, there is an overwhelming desire to be among his/her own kind of people. For this reason, expatriate workers in almost every country I know of flock together, and form clubs and local interest groups.
Once a tentmaker enters into the target country, there is subtle pressure to join these groups, both from within and without. Surely the tentmaker needs to get away once and a while to enjoy a relaxing day at the pool. So they join a local club. If a couple has children, there is pressure to get them involved in all of the things the other expatriate children are doing. Drama club, softball clubs, touring clubs, etc. The variety, and extent of these groups can be astounding.
In the small country of Yemen, with only a few thousand expatriate workers in the country, I observed many such clubs. The "Cable and Wireless Club" (A company name) provided a pool, video room, tennis courts and a bar. (A great place to get away for a while and have a swim, or play a game of tennis). There was a "Walking Club" taking walking trips through many very interesting areas of the country. (Sounds like a great way to get into out of the way places). There was the drama club, putting on excellent plays. (Even if you didn't participate, you surely didn't want to miss their presentations. They were truly excellent and provided a great night away from the pressures of the local situation). There were aerobic clubs, women's jewelry making groups, gardening groups, and many more, not to mention basketball, baseball, and soccer clubs. Embassies put on balls, special events, movies, and invited cultural, music and dance
54 groups from their home countries to come and demonstrate their talents and culture.
The reason for these activities was simply to fulfill a need among the local expatriate community. They needed to fill their spare time, and be involved in enjoyable and meaningful fellowship.
I remember with great sadness, a whole host of would-be tentmakers, who arrived with good intentions. They never got into language study, because almost no-one where they worked knew the language. They soon became involved in the local expatriate community, (simply because it was expected of them by their fellow workers). I observed one lovely Christian woman, who soon was enamored with the single expatriate men, and slowly began to spend less and less time with the nationals, and more and more time with her fellow westerners. Soon she was attending the parties, participating in some of the revelry, and her Christian testimony all but ruined.
Should tentmakers totally exclude themselves from the expatriate community? My answer is a resounding NO! If the tentmaker is well aware of the tempting situations that will face him or her, and if the tentmaker is firmly grounded in his or her calling to minister to the local people, the tentmaker can make use of the local expatriate community.
First of all, the local expatriate community does provide opportunity for respite. Care needs to be given in choosing a club or activity that will allow for some time away from the pressures of your local situation, but one that requires little commitment in participation. If the tentmaker is married with children, such clubs offer a wonderful opportunity for a family activity. In our own experience, we became members of the Cable and Wireless Club, which provided opportunity to take the family swimming on our "family night" as well as taking along guests. (Other Pauline tentmakers working with us).
The local expatriate community also had a small English speaking
55 church. Rather than avoiding it, we attended. The church provided excellent fellowship, teaching, and encouragement. On the other hand, we were able to challenge these Christians to be reaching out to the local people around them.
Secondly, within the expatriate community will be other Christians. These Christians working in the host country can be befriend and trained to act as Priscillan tentmakers. Often they would like to help in the local spiritual situation but can't figure out how to use their resources.
In one place I visited, a number of energetic tentmakers had set up a small medical work. All the tentmakers in this situation were female. Once Christians in the local expatriate community discovered they could help, they planned to give one day every two weeks to assist in maintenance and fellowship. What a joy it was for these ladies, working in an isolated place, to have Christians visit them, bringing western food (already cooked), and having men working on their cars, fixing the electrical and plumbing problems, and just brightening up their place every couple of weeks. It wasn't long before these expatriate Christians began to look for more and better ways of helping reaching the local people for Christ.
Another opportunity to look for is expatriate workers from third world, or surrounding countries. In one nation my wife and I worked in, we discovered a number of believers from neighboring countries that spoke the local language as their mother tongue. We began a house church for these believers, and began to encourage them and train them for ministry. These expatriates had a natural way of contacting and witnessing for Christ.
At the same time, my wife and I began to encourage expatriate Christians to hand out Christian literature. We provided them with bibles and booklets, and were happy to help them when seekers came to them with questions. Over a span of four years, we saw many scriptures distributed, and a number of seekers introduced to Chris-
56 tians, counseled and some brought into the Kingdom of God.
At the same time the needs of the expatriate community need to be addressed. There are many kinds of people applying to work overseas. On one occasion I was looking for work, and stopped to see an administrator for "Saudi Medical Services." It struck me that the project administrator was very interested in having me work for him even though I did not possess the exact qualifications he was looking for. When I declined his invitation to work for him he told me something quite revealing.
Almost bitterly he told me about the staff he had working for him. Everyone had come overseas for some reason. He said he could handle people who were in need of finances, or were simply adventurists.
Then he looked me in the eye and asked? "Why would a good doctor or surgeon leave an excellent practice in his home country to come to Arabia. There must be a reason. It's never on the form but eventually it comes out. The surgeon who's knife has slipped too many times; the doctor who's prescribing himself medication; the worker who's sexual orientation threatens his employers view of him; or the professional who has made some unprofessional decisions."
"Eventually," he continued, " I find there is something wrong with almost everyone one who has come here. We've got nurses who are over six feet tall or over six feet wide. Some brew liquor in their closets or steal pills from the pharmacy."
While he was being rather sarcastic he was clearly describing an overseas phenomena. Many expatriate workers are indeed running away from something. It is no surprise that many Christian tentmakers find a busy, demanding and fulfilling ministry working among these fellow expatiates. While these ministries are excellent and needed, they can detract a tentmaker who's primary calling and drive is to reach the local people.
57 f) Housing Housing can be a problem in some cases. Many international corporations provide housing for their staff. In extreme situations, (such as are common in Saudi Arabia), companies can co-operate together, in building huge compounds for expatriate workers. These compounds include supermarkets, theaters, sports complexes, and everything the expatriate could want. Some compounds have several thousand dwelling units. Buses arrive and take the workers to work, returning them to the compound in the evening. One compound I knew of, run by the Saudi Medical Services, actually asked the newly arrived western workers to sign a living arrangement contract where it stated that they would live on the compound, participate in compound activities, and would refrain from visiting local people except where the company had organized an outside event. So much for effectively reaching the national people for Christ.
Even in less extreme situations, many tentmakers find themselves living in the "western quarter" of town. It often seems, that expatriates and foreign corporations end up all working and living in one section of a city. Before long, local shopkeepers speak English, and oppor- tunities to learning language and culture diminish. g) Children, spouse and other baggage While it sounds harsh, usually one spouse obtains a job, and the other spouse and family members come along as baggage. It is important that families moving overseas work together and guard against one or more members of the family becoming fulfilled and the others becoming baggage. The sad reality is that often the working spouse is fulfilled through the job, and the other spouse and children feel frustrated, isolated, and ignored.
When a tentmaking family proceeds overseas, usually only one of the spouses have a working visa. In most cases, this is the man, but I have observed a number of situations where the woman got the overseas job, and the man came as the baggage. Who ever the spouse is, a lot of thinking and planning needs to go into how the tentmaking family
58 will operate. First of all, they should have it clearly set in their minds, if they are Pauline or Priscillan tentmakers. This will better help them find their role in the community.
All families take time. Time needs to be given to adjusting to the new culture and finding ones place in it. Families need time together. Children need education. Spouses need things to occupy them if they don't have family responsibilities. Care also needs to be given to the social life of the tentmaking family. Participation in one church service a week in your mother tongue is advisable, at least for the first several years, until you have, as a family mastered the local language.
Children's education is often a difficult family issue . It would be impossible to cover all of the options available in all of the countries of the world. Many larger mission organizations have information concerning this topic and you should check them out. (Appendix C)
However, be prepared that the choices you will face will not be easy. Many jobs are offered as "bachelor status," that is the company considers the employee a bachelor. Housing allowances, travel and other perks are paid as if the employee is a bachelor. If you have a family, you must provide for their extra housing allowance, education expenses and so on.
Some employers hire on "family status" but these are often high paying high demanding jobs for highly qualified people. If your job provides for your children's education then you are lucky indeed. The following options are usually what you are faced with:
1. International Schools (Eg: American, British or French): Tuition can be over ten thousand dollars per child. These are not usually boarding schools.
2. Local English Schools: Usually several thousand dollars per child. Follow a curriculum in English but often taught by non-native speakers of English and with non-North American or European views
59 to education.
3. Local Schools: In some countries these are fine. In others, they are religiously oriented. Eg: The Middle East often offers Islamic, Catholic or Greek Orthodox school systems. Visit your local school to try and understand how they teach and discipline.
4. Home Schooling: Does your country, state or province offer correspondence courses to students who are temporarily out of the country? Check with your local school authorities. These correspon- dence courses are usually best for eight year olds and up. Younger children need a lot of supervision and individual teaching. 5. Home schooling with Christian Curriculum. There are a host of curriculums being offered from the USA and Canada. A list of some of these are in appendix G.
6. Some creative solutions to Home Schooling can be worked out. Sometimes another expatriate spouse, who is a qualified teacher, can be found who will monitor your children's work on a daily or weekly basis. In some situations, a local school teacher can be hired for the same price as one tuition at the expatriate school. If you have more than one child, you could even run your own little school.
7. Other Resources Check out local and foreign libraries. Embassies and established mission outreaches often have their own libraries of books. Check out the use of computer CD-ROM based learning materials before leaving your home country. h) Security Security is a problem in most restricted access nations. The host government is happy to have expatriate workers in their country, even if they are Christian expatriate workers. To many people, all Westerners are Christians, and therefore they would expect you to be a Christian. They do, however become very unhappy if you try to convert nationals to your religion. Most of these countries carefully watch foreigners, and scan mail, fax's and phone calls in and out of
60 the country. This is not something you should be frightened of. First of all, thank God for the security system in the nation you are working in. They are there for your protection. They are on the lookout for terrorists and criminals. You will need to make sure, that within their culture, you are a respected Christian, and not suspected of infiltrat- ing their country for alternate motives.
Communicating the need for security to your church and prayer groups can be frustrating. First of all, you need to carefully screen your mailing list. If you are working in a Muslim country, you will not want literature from missions working among Muslims or Jews forwarded to you. You will need to be careful of letters that are sent to you. Well meaning Christians can ask awkward questions. I once received a letter from a children's AWANA group asking how many Muslim converts I had, and also requested a report on the church planting I was doing. i) Poor Preparation and Planning So you want to travel to another country and share the good news of Jesus Christ with them! How prepared are you for this? Can you share the good news of Jesus with someone in your own language and culture? Have you? Can you lead a small group Bible study? How much experience do you have?
And once you arrive in the target country, what are you going to do then? Witness to the few people that you work with? What if they are not interested in the gospel? What then? And if you get a group of new Christians together, what are you going to teach them? And if the Lord only gives you one believer, what will you do then?
Tentmakers often find themselves in difficult positions, in isolated circumstances, doing things they are not prepared for, with few if any adequate tools! The first thing to do, is to assess your tentmaker potential. You can start this by answering some of the questions in Appendix A. Secondly, you need to talk to and interact with other tentmakers. Then
61 you need to immerse yourself in research about the country you are going to. What have other missions done? Who is working in that country? What is the state of the local church? What resources are available in the languages of that country? Are they available there or only outside of that country? Investigate the various methods of evangelism: Literature, video, radio, cassette tapes, etc.
A good place to start in this research, is with Operation World by Patrick Johnstone. Once you have a list of organizations that work in that country, contact them with your list of questions. Be prepared that office workers here may know very little about the situation overseas, but they may be able to tell you something, and more importantly may be able to put you in contact with returning workers who can provide good accurate information. Be prepared that Opera- tion World does not list nearly all of the missions working in Restricted Access Countries. Many mission organizations have requested that their names be withheld for security reasons.
If you have time before you go overseas, investigate the possibility of taking courses in personal evangelism, cross-cultural communica- tion and anthropology. No one can go to the field too prepared! j) Accountability As increasing pressure comes on the tentmaker to become involved in many extra-curricular activities, tentmakers need someone to be accountable to. If a tentmaker is working by his/herself in an isolated place, outside pressure often becomes overwhelming. It is advisable for all tentmakers to have someone that they are responsible to. That someone needs to be bold enough to ask personal questions about time management, language acquisition, Christian fellowship, and the tentmaker's relationship with the Lord. Simply having someone who will ask these questions can help many tentmakers face subtle temptations and "press forward towards the mark of the high calling of Christ Jesus."
62 Chapter Eight CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
The previous chapter contains a number of difficulties that tentmakers may face. The list is in no way inclusive of everything. At a recent Canadian Tentmaker Seminar we compiled a list almost twice as long. But the list we have here is a good representation of the kinds of things one will face as they proceed to another culture as a tentmaker.
Given the difficulties, there are a number of solutions that are being worked through by different tentmakers in different locations. Your own solution to the problems may be a combination of the following, plus other things. If you have any of your own solutions, we would invite you to write to Canadian Tentmaker Seminars and share them with us. Dealing with tentmaker issues is and will be a continuous process for many years to come. a) Developing a Network Almost everyone in the tentmaking world emphases the need for building a network of supporters and friends, both on the field and at home. This network can help you with spiritual as well as physical and emotional needs. Most of the ideas listed below are ideas that will help you find or build such a network. b) Mission Organizations Missionary organizations have been in the business of taking the Gospel overseas for many years. They have spent countless hours and finances, building networks for their people to plug into.
I would strongly suggest that any potential tentmakers seriously investigate mission organizations that work in your target country.
63 Be prepared that most of them will not have place or concern for tentmakers within their organizations. But also be aware, that some mission organizations have growing numbers of tentmakers within them. Some missions today are made up almost exclusively with tentmakers.
Mission organizations may also have researched the country or situation that you are going to, and will be able to supply you with all the information you need. WEC International maintains an Interna- tional Research Office which employs a number of full time research- ers collecting information on every country of the world. Their files are accessible to missionaries and tentmakers preparing to go to the field. The US Center for World Missions also has resources and information available for you.
Also, do not minimize the network potential of missionary organiza- tions. Some organizations have extensive prayer networks that will begin to pray for you. They will undertake to recruit fellow tentmakers to work with you. They may even have a team forming for the country you want to work in, or they might have a team already on the ground in that country.
Imagine the difference being met at the airport by fellow tentmakers, or simply arriving and finding your own way. (If you already have a job, your company may meet you, but be prepared for anything!) In evaluating and choosing a mission organization to work with, carefully work through the issues in chapter eleven. c) Tentmaking Corporations One of my favorite sayings is "If you can't find the perfect job, create it!" Don't be limited in your thinking. Perhaps you can create your own job. There are many opportunities for entrepreneurs and enterprising businessmen. The number of tentmaking corporations around the world is growing. In the early 1980's, a friend of mine registered his own corporation in his home country and then opened an office in his targeted country. At that time he was traveling a route
64 seldom taken by tentmakers before him. The success of this company and of many others after him has proven the validity of this option.
A tentmaking corporation provides many benefits. First of all, the corporation seeks and finds contracts within the country. Then the corporation goes about finding tentmakers who will work with them.
Imagine working with fellow Christians who are keyed up about sharing the gospel! Imagine a company that will give you time to learn the language, provide housing among the local people, encourage you to share the gospel with business contacts, and pray with and encourage you when things get tough. Truly the advantages of working in a tentmaking company are many.
However, please be advised that often these benefits must be traded for other disadvantages. Many tentmaking companies struggle financially as their interest is in witnessing and founding churches not making a fast buck. Sometimes they ask tentmakers to take low wages, or, as often is the case, expect them to come through mission organizations with some financial support behind them.
One situation I worked in asked new workers to provide a minimum amount of personal support. The company paid for housing, transport, utilities, etc., but expected the tentmaker to provide money for food, clothing and other needs.
Another company I know, asks all tentmakers to come with full support. They are then brought into the country as "advisors," and their pay is assumed to come "from the head office." This company then teams up the tentmakers with local salesmen to send into surround communities. Is this a front? No, the company does a real business, and pays the wages of the local workers. They are glad to accommodate tentmakers into their organization providing them with visa's and work permits as long as they have skills to contribute to the work of the company.
65 d) Partnerships Partnering tentmakers in the home county with tentmakers overseas provides an interesting option. One man I met was working in North America in a lucrative position. He regularly gave half his income to his partner, a tentmaker in another country. This extra finance allowed the other tentmaker to spend more time in ministry. The tentmaker on the field was accountable to the businessman at home. This businessman would regularly hold prayer meetings, and recruit new workers for his partner on the field.
Perhaps God has brought you across the path of someone who would dearly love to go but can't. Perhaps that person can be your partner to back up your ministry on the field. In the above case, the Priscillan tentmaker was in one country, and the Pauline in another. The shortcoming of this approach is that the tentmaker is vulnerable to the collapse of the supporting partner at home. You stand the possibility of loosing all your support if it is based on one individual. e) Tourists Why work at all? Many countries provide three month visa's for tourists, which are renewable once you leave the country and re-enter. Tourism is seen in many countries as a major source of foreign income, and tourists are fully encouraged to visit and stay as long as they like.
Some tentmakers have taken advantage of this, by becoming tourists, renting a small apartment, and spending time learning language and culture. Being a professional tourist implies that either you have money to support yourself, or else you have supports who will. Many tentmakers use tourism as a method of initial entry. Once they have learned language and culture and located a job they change their status from a tourist to an employee. f) Tentmaker Networks Networking with other tentmakers is important in keeping up to date with new ideas that are being tried. Check the various lists in the back
66 of this book for names of organizations and networks which can give you advise, and put you in contact with other tentmakers.
67 Chapter Nine FINDING A JOB
Jobs usually come from three sources. First of all, the place where you are presently working may want to send you overseas. Secondly, you might be able to create your own work overseas. Thirdly, you may be in the difficult position of finding your own job overseas. This chapter will address this last situation.
To begin with, you must assess three basic questions: - Where will I go? - What will I do? - Who will I team up with?
Every tentmaker faces these issues at one time or another. Everyone starts with these three questions, and begins with at least one answer, and then moves on to others. Some have a particular burden for a people group or place in the world. Others have a desire to use their professional skills for the Lord. Still others have found their niche with a particular team or ministry. Wherever you start, you will have to answer these questions before you leave for your field of ministry.
Secondly you need to assess your tentmaking and ministry skills, and determine if your emphasis will be on a Pauline or Priscillan model of tentmaking. If you are more Priscillan in nature, you will have to have good job skills and be looking for a job that will best suit your profession. This should answer the second question of what will I do? Eg: If you are an engineer, you will look for an engineering profession. If you are Pauline in nature, you should have good ministry skills and are looking for a job that will provide access and a good platform for ministry. 68 a. Discovering yourself. So lets get started. Flip over to Appendix A, and work your way through the questions provided. This should help you begin accessing yourself. Don't be discouraged if you feel you don't measure up. The questionnaire is designed to show you areas you need to work on.
Note the following paragraph from Canadian Insider Magazine (December 1991) page 22 where Anne M. Fawcett of Caldwell Partners explains what her firm looks for in recruiting qualities and generic experiences in screening for international candidates.
"Traditional recruiting measurements such as academic grade- point averages, management knowledge and skills, and promotions are still looked at, but these are considered overall weaker predic- tors of effectiveness in a global setting than combinations of certain personality traits. Having an innate curiosity scores high points, as do adaptability, highly developed communication skills, stamina and high energy. Candidates must be comfortable and competent working in a consultative environment and should demonstrate a strong sense of their own self worth.
Life experiences are also reliable predictors. Were there frequent moves during childhood? Were summer jobs somewhat out of the ordinary? Were candidates "joiners"? Were they influential without necessarily assuming traditional leadership roles? Did they have an impact on their surroundings, no matter what the context? In essence, have they lived relatively broad, well-developed lives?"
Assess yourself and see what you can do to bring about positive changes in your life to prepare you for the hectic and demanding life of a tentmaker overseas. b. Determine your primary purpose for being a tentmaker. Why do you want to become a tentmaker? Is it because you wish to gain access into a country for ministry purposes? Or is it because of your interest in a career or profession, or is it because you want to use
69 your profession to share Christ with those who have never heard? I hope that it is not because you are interested in travel and money? c. Assess how these purposes relate to your other goals in life. What about your marriage, children's education, your home, and your planned retirement? If you are going to need to sacrifice some of these, think carefully through the issues. d. Research job opportunities Here are some suggestions: a) Does your present employer want to send people overseas? b) Check local newspapers, and the International Employment Gazette, 1525 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29609 USA. c) Check your Local Library. Look specifically for a book listing corporations overseas. These corporations may be looking for someone just like you. d) Contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and get a list of contracts that companies from your country are obtaining over- seas. These companies may be looking for extra workers, especially those who are interested in working overseas. e) Many jobs are hidden. Get into networks where you can discover these jobs. Contact the various mission organizations, and tentmaking networks listed in the back of this catalog. Check with InterCristo for their list of jobs overseas. e. Write a resume and curriculum vita. Get professional help. Write five or six versions, each one emphasiz- ing a different aspect of your training and abilities. Have lots of clear, crisp photographs of yourself. Be prepared to send out lots of resume's with few responses. Also, make sure your cover letter is well written, neat and crisp. Well written resume's can be ruined by poor cover letters. f. Investigate how to better prepare yourself a) Language courses or linguistic courses. Language courses are
70 available everywhere. A good course to consider even before studying the actual language is the Toronto Institute of Linguistics or The Summer Institute of Linguistics. (See Appendix B) b) Get more training in evangelism or leading bible studies. No one can have too much training or experience. c) Investigate training in Spiritual Warfare. Youth With A Mission has an excellent set of video tapes by Dean Sherman on Spiritual Warfare. These should be a prerequisite for all tentmakers. While you may not agree with everything, the overall teaching and emphasis is important and possibly the best anywhere. d) Look for opportunities to get involved in reaching people of the target religion in your home country. If you are going to work with Muslims (or whatever), find someone close to you with a ministry to these same kinds of people and work along with them. Discover how to better train yourself in understanding these people and their religious viewpoints. e) Can you better further your training and experience? Do you need to upgrade your degree, get more job references, or obtain broader job experience? How can you round out your resume to show that you are a valuable asset to the people looking to hire you? g. Identify possible obstacles. a) Your health - Get it thoroughly checked out. b) Family at home - will they stand in your way? c) Debt - can you pay it off? d) Immediate Family - will they come? e) Timing. - Expect long waits due to bureaucratic red tape. - Be prepared to leave tomorrow.
71 h. Research which mission or organization you could best partner with for ministry overseas.
Each one has different policies and procedures. Read the next chapter and then check out which one God is leading you to. i. Develop a plan of action a) Seek God for a target country or people b) Look for people from that country to befriend where you are c) Look for a Christian organization you can join d) Set up a schedule. Don't procrastinate... move forward with what you can do now. e) Begin your research. f) Approach your first organization. g) Get to know international students who have connections in the target country. Often international students are from families with money and connections. These students may know of opportunities in their countries. h) Determine a budget. i) Make specific time each month to analyze where you are going. j) Find someone you can be accountable to. k) Be prepared for Satan to discourage and get in your way. l) Start preparing your church. Ask for an adult Sunday School class, talk to your missions board, visit and pray with your pastor, approach some Godly Christians to form your support network. m) Ask special friends in your church to form a special prayer cell to back you in your move. j. Multi- national companies. Now for the discouraging part. Multi-National corporations seldom provide good tentmaking jobs. Sometimes Priscillan tentmakers can find a satisfactory job, but Pauline tentmakers usually don't fit very well. Multi-national corporations are usually interested in how your career can suit them and not how they can suit your career. What I and others have found is that their view of the employee is often very
72 stereotyped, imagining that you simply want to advance in your career, earn mega money, and enjoy it while your at it.
There are opportunities in multi-national corporations, but you must accept that your ministry may be limited to the sphere of service available inside the corporation. Don't imagine that you will have time for village evangelism or church planting. Integrity on the job is important. If the company pays you well, you must respond well. If you sign a contract you must, as a Christian live up to that contract.
Priscillan tentmakers have found multi-national companies some- times provide employment suitable to their ministry, but Pauline tentmakers are often frustrated with the narrow confines put on them. k. Local Contact Looking for a job in a distant country while you are at home is difficult. Many jobs in that distant country are never advertised overseas. The reasons for this are many, but some of them are because expatriates in the country snap up the jobs, or because the employer never thinks of advertising in your country. He may be under the impression that he can hire third world professionals at a much lower rate than he could western professionals. Many good jobs are advertised in Pakistan and India and not in America.
Another issue to consider is that of local contract versus foreign contract. Foreign contract usually means being hired in your home country and being moved overseas. Local contracts are jobs where you are hired inside of the country. The difference is quite great. Foreign contract means that the company will fly you in and out of the country, and depending on whether you are hired as bachelor status or married status, provide for your spouse and family. The draw back is that foreign contracts are seldom negotiable. Local contracts are usually very negotiable, although they often pay less. Depending on the circumstances, corporations often prefer local contracts but seldom have it as an option for hiring western expertise.
73 l. Visit One of the best ways of finding a job is getting on the plane and flying to the country in question. Spend some time enrolling in a language program, and start looking for a job on the side. You would be amazed at what you can find, and how quickly things happen when the company is dealing with you on sight instead of through letters and phone calls to a distant land.
Embassies, Government Aid, etc. "What in the World is Going On", is a book by Canadian International Business Education. Government agencies are always looking for people to work overseas. Check around for listings that your government has already compiled. However, most embassies have a policy that their employees must live lives that relect the lifestyle of the country they are representing. Embassy personnel represent their country both on and off the job. Relief Organizations. There are opportunities to serve overseas with relief organizations. A good rule of thumb is : Know the agency, what it stands for politically and spiritually. But be aware that these jobs are sometimes hard to get. Only a few of these jobs are advertised in papers. One example I know of, is where CIDA advertised a job opening in Thailand. They had over 500 applicants for the job. Interestingly, the person who got the job was recommended by a local Thai organization and was not part of the 500 who applied from Canada.
Teaching English as a Second Language Teaching English is probably one of the best jobs for Pauline type tentmakers. Qualifications are relatively easy to obtain. The job places the teacher in constant contact with local people. While they may not pay too well, they are excellent tickets into a country, especially when working in a team with Priscillan tentmakers.
Tentmaking Corporations Discovering these corporations is not easy. For security reasons they do not advertise their presence as tentmaking businesses. Much could
74 be said or written about this subject, but this is not the place for this. Contact tentmaker networks to discover more about these or estab- lishing your own business or service overseas.
75 Chapter Ten CHOOSING A PARTNER ORGANIZATION
Choosing a missionary organization to work with in tentmaking ministry is not easy. However, your choice of organization is very important. Some have likened it to choosing a marriage partner. Compatibility, understanding, and God's will in the choice are all very important. Finding one's self in a missions organization where you do not fit can be a difficult position.
First off, I need to emphasize that no mission agency is perfect. If you find one, don't join, or you will ruin it! The search for a mission agency is not the search for the perfect agency, but rather an agency with similar views, goals, and personal preferences.
In choosing a mission agency, I have developed a list of ten important criteria to assess yourself, and the agency by. Each of these criteria have been the basis for difficulties in mission/personal conflicts in the past. These are important things to consider. Some are very simple and easy to deal with. Others will take more time and thought.
1. Location There is no mission that works in every country and people group in the world. If you have a particular people group in mind, the prospective mission agency must have work, or at least an interest in working there.
2. Ministry Some missions carry on a very specific ministry, others are involved 76 in many kinds of ministry. Often you will need to ask specifically if the mission is involved in a particular kind of ministry. For example WEC International is involved in radio work but it doesn't have a prominent place in their literature. Also WEC does work in many restricted access nations but they seldom mention this in the literature available to the general public.
3. Theology There is actually a wide spectrum of theological beliefs within the sphere of Christianity called "evangelical". Many missions have a distinctive theological blend from within these various areas. It is vitally important that you find a mission where you are comfortable with their theological stand, both what they believe and do NOT believe.
As an example I was seconded to a certain mission organization for one year in the Middle East. While I was reasonably at home with them, my theological beliefs were wider and more flexible than theirs. This posed very few problems for me until one day some folks from the Roman Catholic church across the street approached the mission about helping them with a bible study and music night each week, as the priest could only come to their church every few months. I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to share. The mission felt differ- ently, (although there were many within the mission who thought someone should do something,) their policy was never to mix with and compromise their strict theological position. I felt a real opportunity was lost. It is important to carefully examine the mission's stand on baptism, gifts, and salvation. Could a Mennonite who was baptized by pouring join this mission? How about an evangelical Lutheran who was sprinkled?
Does this mission believe that spiritual gifts are valid today or do they consider anyone who speaks in tongues as demon possessed? Would you be comfortable in a mission where fellow workers might speak in tongues in their own private devotions? Or in a prayer meeting?
77 Would you be comfortable in a mission which denies tongues?
With the emergence of liberal schools and churches and the introduc- tion of liberation theology in evangelical circles, one must carefully sort out what exactly is meant by salvation. This often boils down to a question of: Are the lost really lost? Do those who have never heard of Jesus really go to a Christless eternity? Make sure that you agree with those that you are working with about this important subject.
4. Structure The subject of mission structure sounds rather dreary, but it is of great importance. How does the mission structure itself? Is there a board in the West that gives total direction? Are people assigned duties or are they encouraged to seek God's direction for themselves, or is there some blend of these? Does the mission work with autonomous teams?
Are decisions in the hands of a few or is there equal voice from the various team workers? Do they practice democracy, servant leader- ship, or patriarchal leadership? When a vote is taken, who votes? How long must you be on the field to vote? What percentage of votes is taken as a decision?
5. Finances: What sort of financial system does the mission operate under? Is it based on the idea that the missionaries are the fund-raisers for the organization? Will you be expected to raise money for yourself and home office administration and other overheads? How much of the money that comes in for your support actually gets out to you? Is the organization cost effective? A good book to read about this is Money and Missions by Dr. Jon Bonk (see Appendix G)
6. Support: What sort of support is built into the mission for tentmakers at the various stages of their ministry?
a) Does the mission have a time of orientation where the tentmaker
78 is introduced to the team he is joining? Is there a sufficient orientation time to help the tentmaker understand the mission he is joining and to feel a part of what he is about to get involved in? Are the tentmaker candidates provided with a clear picture of the financial and structural principles of the mission? Are they provided with the things they need to raise their support and visit churches? Are they helped in getting prayer cards, displays, audio-visuals, and other items to communicate with their churches and to build their network of supporters. b) Does the mission have a structured prayer support system? Will tentmakers be able to speak at prayer groups interested in them and their work? Does the mission have a network of prayer warriors that will back them up as they go to the field? Does the mission provide information for the tentmakers to help them in developing their own prayer support system? One organization I know of matched each tentmaker with a returned or retired worker from that field to pray for them.
c) Is there a structure in place for pastoral support on the field? Who will counsel and guide you? Who will introduce you to the new culture? Who will help when interpersonal relationship problems develop? Who will help when you have trouble with your team or team leaders? d) Does the mission offer someone as a contact for the obtaining of things that are not attainable on the field. When a computer, or some other thing breaks down, who will look after it on the home end?
e) What plan and support is there for some sort of furlough breaks? Is there assistance in re-entering the home culture? Is there a someone who will debrief you? Is there help if you desire counseling? Will someone help you with preparing audio/visuals, displays, etc for communicating with your network? Will someone help you arrange tours, and encourage you in your deputation? f) What about supportive information and programs for your children
79 and children's education? Are there flexible options for educating children? Are they even interested in your children's well being?
7. Goals: Do you agree with the purpose, direction and vision of the mission? Does the work and direction of the mission stir you with enthusiasm?
Is the mission actually moving somewhere or is it all talk and no action? Does the mission spend bigger bucks on advertising than it does on the ministry taking place? How truthful and realistic is the mission advertising and recruitment persuasions? Is the mission simply carrying on the old vision or are new ministries being started or new areas being targeted?
8. Screening: Does the mission screen its applicants? How? By what methods? Are all conforming to one mold? Do all require the same educational standards? Remember that if you have been screened poorly, so will your fellow team mates.
9. Witness type: Does the mission emphasize incarnational life style? Do they practice it? Do you agree with this approach to evangelism? This is important as it will affect your life and ministry on the field in many ways. Does the mission engage in lifestyle evangelism? Will they encourage you to get involved in personal evangelism?
10. Fringe Benefits: What sort of fringe benefits does the mission offer? Is there a retirement plan? A health plan? A savings plan? Does the mission relinquish all responsibility of the tentmaker when something goes wrong? Have a look at those who are retiring or resigning. Are the retirees happy? What problems did they face? Usually those who resign have had problems. What sort of problems were they? Will you have the same problems?
80 Chapter Eleven BOMBING OUT
Do tentmakers fail? The sad truth is yes. The actual truth is that we all fail in one area or another at one time or another. If you have tried tentmaking, or are in the middle of a tentmaking effort, and are facing bitter struggles, this chapter is for you.
The Learning Process All of us are learning. Even the experts (whoever they are?) are learning. There are two ways to learn. One is through success and the other is through failure. If you feel you have bombed out in your tentmaking ministry then I would invite you to sit down and write a list of things you have learned from your tentmaking experience. Be as sarcastic as you want, but be truthful. When you are done you will have a list of things you successfully learned.
This book was written through the learning experience of others. Most of those experiences were failures. I believe that we must learn through others' failures. If you would like, send a list of your struggles and failures as a tentmaker to myself, or to the Canadian Tentmaker Seminars. Perhaps others can learn as well.
Measuring Success: The western world is success oriented. We tend to measure everything by success and failure. Very often our sense of failure is based on our sense of success. We often define success before we start, and when we don't achieve the definition we feel we have failed.
The same is true of language learning. I have met many people who
81 defined success in their language learning as fluency in two years. They worked and struggled with the language for two years, and at the end felt that they were failures. They had failed to achieve fluency. The truth of the matter was that they had gained a rough working knowledge of the language. At the end of the two years they knew hundreds of vocabulary items, they could buy and sell things, and in truth they knew a tremendous more of the language than when they started.
Their sense of failure was based on not achieving their goal in the time frame that they had originally set.
The same goes for ministry. First of all, we must try and get God's perspective on success in ministry. During my years of experience and through my interacting with many Godly men and women I have come to realize that success is never measured in converts won, churches planted or years of service. Success is only measured by one's constant walk with God.
If you have been faithful in walking with God each day. If you have endeavored to serve him with your life, and have tried your hardest to follow in his footsteps then you have done your part. The guilt of failure is often a tool of the enemy in discouraging us from moving any farther along in our walk with God. One of Satan's tools in the Christian life is encouraging us to set unobtainable goals. When we fail to reach them, he convinces us to stop trying, and give up.
Perhaps you not only failed at success, but you fell headlong into several of the tentmaking traps mentioned in this book. If so, please note the following important point. Many others have fallen into the same pitfalls as well. The important thing is not the failure, but rather, "what will you now do with the lessons that you learned through your tentmaking experience."
Will you attempt to use those lessons in trying again to serve God through your profession? Will you use those lessons to try and
82 encourage others and instruct them about places they may fail? Or will you use those lessons to discourage others? Will you "throw in the towel" as it were, or will you keep on fighting?
Dealing with Burnout One of the struggles many tentmakers face is that of burnout. Many of us are trying to do too many things at once. We are torn between the demands of our profession, our family and our ministry. Because of our success orientation we begin putting in longer and longer hours, rushing between commitments and pressures.
While there are lots of good books on detecting and avoiding burnout, the best advice that can be given is simply this: Learn to walk quietly with God. I have discovered that God seldom overloads our schedule.
It is usually we who fill our lives with the pressure of frenzied activities. Success in ministry is tied to successful spiritual activities and success in family is tied to successful family activities.
An important part in dealing with burnout is dealing with our sense of success. If you match your success in ministry to having a quality time with God where he leads, teaches and directs you; and where you are open and aware of his leading you throughout the day, then you can relax as God manages your ministry.
And once you become relaxed in who God is, who you are and what your relationship is to him, you can approach ministry (and life) from a calm relaxed point of view. The greatest way to avoid burnout is learning to relax in Jesus, finding your fulfillment in Him and His word.
83 Chapter Twelve THE CONTINUING STORY
Despite the traps, there have been many successful tentmakers. From the time of the early church until now, tentmakers have been making an impact for the Gospel. Tentmaking is biblical, practical and effective. In closing we would like to share four stories about tentmakers who's lives and ministry have been making a difference.
Because these stories come from Restricted Access Nations I have changed names and deliberately not mentioned locations. However the individuals really exist or existed and the stories are true.
WALTER AND MARIA (Pracillian) Walter and Maria originally applied to join a mission organization in Europe but for various reasons they were turned down. It was a difficult time in their life, but they were convinced that God wanted them in the Middle East. As they sought God for direction he lead them to a job in their target country. Walter became the plant manager for a school and his wife the school nurse.
Over the years that followed Walter and Maria used their job, their home, and their skills to support the work of God in their host country. While they never realized it as such, their lives emulated Pracillan tentmaking. When they rented a home they always made sure they had room for people to gather for meetings. During the years that I knew them they regularly hosted meetings for a number of different church services and ethnic groups. Their home was also always open to everyone, especially visiting Pauline tentmakers. Many Christian works traveling through their city found rest, fellowship and renewal in their home and around their kitchen table. They were never too busy
84 for anyone. Walter used his mechanical skills to fix people's cars, he used his musical skills to provide music for Christian meetings. Whenever they flew to the west for a break they would return with suitcases packed with music books and tapes for the Christians that met in their home.
Walter and Maria were never dynamic evangelists, but they were effective facilitators. Walter regularly sat on the church board of the local international church. His presence over many years provided continuity and direction. While he occasionally had opportunity to preach, his strength lay in one to one discipleship and encouragement.
While their names may never be mentioned in the annals of mission history, their continued presence strengthened and supported almost every missionary effort in that country.
Bill and Mary (Pracillian) Bill was an expert in electronic communications. He could have worked anywhere and demanded any salary, but he chose to work in a small country in the Middle East. In his field as a professional he was highly respected and trusted even to the place where he was granted high security clearance in his host countries' military.
But Bill and Mary were not only skilled in their profession, they possessed great ministry skills. Not only was their home open to provide accommodation for traveling Christian workers they also held a weekly meeting in their home where many were blessed and more than a few found Christ. Bill and Mary often found themselves in the middle of ministering to many needy both spiritually and physically. The ministry of this dear couple blessed, encouraged and strengthened many Christian, both expatriate and national.
Lawrence (Pauline)
Lawrence was born to Chinese parents in America. During his high
85 school years he attended a Christian school where he found Christ. He then followed on by attending a Bible College and joining a mission organization.
Lawrence originally went to Thailand, but he sensed God calling him to work in a closed Asian country. He trained as a teacher of English to help gain him entrance.
Once in his target country Lawrence took a job as an English teacher. Often the positions were open only for six months. This suited him perfectly for usually within a few months he had led a number of his students and friends to Christ, baptized them and then moved on passing his teaching job on to more Pracillian minded tentmakers.
Lawrence's students loved him. Once, after only a couple of classes, several of his students approached him and told him that they noticed that not only was he teaching them English he was also teaching them philosophy.
In a handful of years Lawrence left a string of churches behind him. Once when returning to a small group of new believers he had left behind, he found the little group and grown to over three hundred with a sister meeting of two hundred in a nearby factory.
My favorite story of Lawrence is as follows. One night a group of these new believers gathered secretly in his house for a baptismal service. The bathtub was serving as a baptismal pool, and they were all crowded in the bathroom. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Lawrence answered it while the others squeezed into the bathroom and shut the door.
At the door Lawrence greeted some school authorities and security men. They came to discuss rumors that Lawrence was a covert political activist. During the visit that followed one of the men excused himself to use the bathroom. Lawrence thought that all was discovered when the man quietly returned a few minutes later. When
86 the men left, Lawrence rushed to the bathroom only to discover it empty. Looking through the tiny bathroom window he discovered everyone huddled outside on an adjoining roof. They then returned to the baptism rejoicing in God's goodness.
In the case of Lawrence, one Pauline tentmaker blazed a trail planting scores of churches. He left behind him opportunity for many Pracillian tentmakers to follow, using their skills to disciple and role model for the newly planted churches.
Jeff and Carey (Pauline)
Jeff and Carey are a young couple from the USA who trained for ministry at a well known Christian college. They began their tentmaking carrier by visiting their target country as tourists and enrolling in a local language school to concentrate on learning the local language. Later they enrolled in a university as students, taking a minimum study load to enable them to have time for ministry.
Jeff and Carey have concentrated their ministry skills on evangelism and church planting. When they discovered that Christian radio and TV stations had names and addresses of interested people in their community they volunteered to do the follow-up. As they developed their ministry skills they began to see people come to Christ. As I write this book they are praying and working towards forming these believers into a functioning church.
Jeff and Carey pour their lives into the lives of their friends, neighbors and contacts. From morning to evening they are in constant demand. People continually drop in to talk. Jeff and a young national travel all around the community to talk to those interested in the Gospel. While they are "professional tourists" or at times "professional students" the majority of their time is taken up with the active presentation of the
87 gospel and the strengthening of new converts. Several Pracillan tentmakers have now begun to assist Jeff and Carey in their ministry.
I am convinced that tentmaking works when perspectives are bal- anced and understood. When competent tentmakers enter a country they set about establishing ministry. Paul, Pracillan and Aquila modeled and began a venue for ministry that is still valid today: trained competent Christian professionals making vital contributions to winning the lost and disciplining the nations.
88 APPENDICES
A. Determining your Tentmaker Potential (A set of questions to bring a person to grips with themselves in a tentmaking situation)
Assessing your spiritual walk with God 1. How much time do you spend each day in prayer and personal Bible Study? 2. Do you find the majority of your spiritual momentum comes from: a) church meetings or fellowship with other believers? b) Christian radio, TV, Cassettes, Music, Media? c) your own study of the Word of God? 3. Do you think you could feed yourself spiritually if put in a situation where there was no regular outside spiritual input into your life? 4. Do you think you could glean from God's word spiritual under- standing and knowledge so that you could feed others? 5. How difficult would it be for you to do the following in your own language and culture? a) Explain the gospel clearly to another person? b) Work through biblical apologetics with an unbeliever? (eg: how could a loving God command Joshua to kill so many children, or how do you explain the doctrine of thetrinity?) c) Disciple a new believer in the Word, teaching him the basics of Christianity and practical Christian life (like how to pray or how to study your bible?) d) lead a bible study group in your home?
Assessing your spiritual gifts 1. Do you know what spiritual gifts you may have now? 2. Are you prepared for God to use you in ways that you may not feel gifted for?
89 3. Do you see yourself as a Pauline type tentmaker (involved in evangelism, preaching, and church planting)? 4. Do you see yourself as a Priscillan type tentmaker involved in supportive roles, role modeling, and individual discipleship?
Assessing your ministry experience 1. Have you had experience in witnessing to unbelievers? 2. Have you ever lead someone to Christ? 3. Have you ever discipled new believers? 4. Are you prepared to be a spiritual leader or a supporter of others? 5. Do you see yourself as a shy withdrawn person? How easy will it be to approach people of a different culture? If you have a ten- dency to shyness, how easy would it be for you to meet and invite some new immigrants to your country to your home for tea or lunch. 6. Do you see yourself as an outgoing capable witnesser? Can you slow yourself down enough to meet foreigners and begin to under- stand them and their outlook on life before sharing with them the gospel as seen from your perspective?
Assessing your family background 1. Are you free to leave your family behind? Will your parents and other family members need your help or attention while you are away? 2. Are you prepared to leave the needs of your friends and family in the hands of others? 3. Do your parents or siblings strongly oppose or support your desire to be a tentmaker? Can you explain what you are doing to them in such a way that they will be supportive? 4. Is your church supportive? Have you clearly explained what you are doing? 5. Does your church see you as a missionary or as someone who is moving away to get work elsewhere? 6. Does your spouse wholeheartedly support your vision? 7. Do your children understand why and what you are doing? 8. Have you thought through how you will approach children's education?
90 Assessing your educational and work experience background Most overseas jobs demand high qualifications. Nurses usually have to be nurse supervisors. Engineers usually need several years of experience in directly related engineering work.
1. Do you have a clear resume prepared? Does it adequately explain what you have done each year of your life? 2. Are you prepared to face interrogation by security police concerning each year of your life. (Especially in closed countries). They may want to know what a year spent at "Trinity College" means? 3. Do you feel reasonably qualified for the work you want to do? 4. Are you prepared that your profession might be seen as a "low" profession in another country. Eg: Carpenters are not seen as highly skilled workers and are not paid as such in many countries.
Assessing your creativity and innovation 1. List on a piece of paper ten different types of work you could do. Think hard. What are some skills that you have that you could transfer to another culture? 2. Would you be prepared to teach at or open a small school to teach some transferable skill? (eg: Typing, sewing, computer use, draft- ing, etc?) 3. Prepare several resumes for yourself, each one depicting yourself in a slightly different role. 4. What are some things you could do now to give yourself qualifications or experience in several different areas of interest that you have? Can you turn that flair for interior decorating or gardening into something you might be able to offer? Can you get a certificate from a community college or work with a professional for a while and get a letter of recommendation? (Eg: I met a school director once that was looking for an administrative assistant with a flair for gardening. The school grounds (some thirty acres of desert) needed a lot of work. This director was willing to go easy on the administrative assistant bit if he could get his hands on someone who could design and create the school yard.
91 5. Are you willing to spend some time learning the language and culture of the place you want to go to? 6. Are you willing to expand some of your "interests" in the target area? Eg: Gardening: Taking time to learn about foreign plants and trees. Assessing a job opportunity
A. Work Place 1. Will I be working with other expats or with locals? 2. Will I be expected to put in long hours? 3. Am I going to carry any significant responsibility for the project? Will this mean I will get tied down in the running of the project and robbed of quality ministry time? 4. Will I be provided with a car? Am I free to drive anywhere? 5. Will I be provided with a translator at all times? Is there anyway of meeting and talking with people without the translator present? 6. Will I be hired on a local contact bases or on a foreign contract bases? How will this affect my trips home?
B. Living Arrangements 1. Will I be free to choose my own living arrangements? 2. Will the company provide a temporary place for me to live while house hunting? 3. Is their any living or housing contracts that I must sign when I get there? Have I read and understood all my commitments?
C. Ministry Options? 1. Is there a language school that will offer night classes? 2. Will my employer support or pay for my language study? 3. Am I prepared to go "against the grain" by mixing with the locals? 4. Are their local churches I can attend? 5. Is there an International or English meeting where I can worship in my own language, where my kids can go to Sunday School and meet other Christian kids?
92 Assessing your support team
A. Home Church 1. Have I communicated with my pastor? Do I have a good relationship with him? 2. Does the missions committee understand what I am doing? 3. What opportunities will I have to share with my church? 4. Do I have someone to photocopy my prayer letters? 5. Is there someone who will host a weekly/monthly prayer meeting for me while I am gone?
B. Mission 1. Have I made contact with any mission boards? 2. Do I feel the Lord is leading me to join one of them? 3. Do I understand their philosophy of ministry? 4. Am I happy with the team I will work with?
93 APPENDIX B Organizations that can help
Tentmaking Interest Groups and Organizations
CAC (Creative Access Consultation) Angela Pursey P.O. Box 7177, Lykauitos NICOSIA Cyprus FAX: 357-2-368596
Canadian Tentmaker Seminars #200 - 4030 Sheppard Ave. E. Agincourt, Ontario, M1S 1S6 Phone: (416) 2993- 9832 Fax: (416) 293-9619
Pickenham Resource Centre North Pickenham Swaffham, Norfolk U.K. PE37 8L6 Phone: 0760-440492
Tentmaker International Exchange USA Phone: ( ) Fax:( )
Job Placement Agencies
Intercristo USA Phone:( ) Fax:( )
Expat Network, International House, 500 Purley Way, Croydon, Surrey CR0 4NZ UK Phone: (+44) London (181) 760 5100 Fax: (+44) London (181) 760 0469 (Membership L60.00 /year. They have placed over 9000 people in foreign jobs.) A second mailing address is: Expat Network, P.O. Box 181 Croydon CR9 4WR England. s
94 Appendix C Some of the Mission Organizations Interested in Placing Tentmakers
Arab World Ministries Canada P.O. Box 3398, Cambridge, ON N3H 4T3 U.K. P.O.Box 51 Loughborough, Leics Le11 0ZQ U.S.A. P.O. Box 96, Upper Darby, P.A. 19082
Interserve Aust. P.O. Box 320, Box Hill Vicotria 3128 Canada #200 - 4030 Sheppard Ave. E. Agincourt, Ontario, M1S 1S6 NZ P.O. Box 10 - 244, Auckland 3 U.K. 325 Kennington Rd. London SE11 4QH U.S.A P.O. Box 418 Upper Darby PA 19082
Operation Mobalization Aust. P.O. Box 32, Box Hill, Vic 3128 Canada P.O. Box 9, Port Colborne, ON L3K 5V7 Sing. P.O. Box 805, Orchard PO, Singapore 9123 S.Africa P.O. Box 30221, 0132 Sunnyside, Pretoria U.K. The Quinta, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry, Shopshire SY10 7LT U.S.A. PO Box 444, Tyrone, GA 30290-0444
WEC International Aust. 48 Woodside Ave., Strathfield, NSW 2135 Ph: 2 747 5577 Brazil Rua Carlos Monte Verde 25, 31060-350 Boa Vista, Belo Horisonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil Ph: 31 461 7319 Canada #37 Aberdeen Ave., Hamilton, Ontario L8P 2N6 Ph: (416) 529-0166 Germany Hof Hausel 4, D-65817 Eppstein, Ph: 6198 9005 H. Kong. P.O. Box 73261, Kowloon Central PO, Kowloon, Hong Kong Ph: 796 4980 Holland Waalstraat 40, 8303 DH Emmeloord, Netherlands Ph: 5270
95 16521 N.Z. P.O.Box 27264, Mt. Roskill, Auckland 4 Ph: 9 630 2150 S. A. P.O. Box 47777, Greyville, 4023, Republic of S.Africa Ph: 31 3032533 Sing. P.O. Box 185, Raffles City, Singapore 9117 Ph: 250 6455 Swiss Falkenstrasse 10, CH-8630 Ruti, Switzerland Ph: 55 31 55 40 U.K. Bulstrode, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL9 8SZ Ph: 753 884631 U.S.A. Box 1707, Fort Washington, PA 19034, Ph: (215) 646-2322
International Research Office: Bulstrode, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL9 8SZ Ph: 753 884631
96 Appendix D Resource Books on Tentmaking and Related Subjects
Alternatives: A Directory of Creative Avenues to the Unreached World, (Issachar Frontier Missions Strategies )
God's New Envoys by Tetsunao Yamamori (Multnomah Press 1987)
International Employment Gazette, 1525 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29609 USA
Operation World by Patrick Johnstone (STL Books, William Carey Library 1986)
Restricted World Ministry Handbook: A special Report on the Nations of the Restricted-Access World (Issachar Frontier Missions Strategies 1989)
Tentmakers Speak by Don Hamilton (Regal Books, 1987)
Today's Tentmakers by Christy Wilson Jr. (Seattle: Overseas Counseling Service, 1979)
Working Abroad: Today's Tentmaking Challenge by Philip Nunn (Overcomer Press Inc. 1990)
Your Work Matters to God by Dave Sherman and William Hendricks (Nav. Press 1987)
97 Appendix E Bibliography
God's Foreign Policy by Miriam Adeney (Eerdmans 1984)
Global View of Christian Missions by J. Herbert Kane (Baker Book House 1975)
Liberating the Laity by Paul Stevens
Livingsone by Tim Jeal (Futura Publications Ltd. 1975)
Money & Mission by Dr. Jon Bonk
Operation World by Patrick Johnstone (STL Books, William Carey Library 1986)
Profit for the Lord by William Danker (Erdmans, 1971)
Tentmakers Speak by Don Hamilton (Regal Books, 1987)
The Archaeology of the New Testament by E.M. Blaiklock (Thomas Nelson Inc. 1984, Nashville Tenn)
The Case for the Voluntary Clergy by Roland Allen
The Laity in Ministry (Judson Press 1984)
Today's Tentmakers by Christy Wilson Jr. (Seattle: Overseas Counseling Service, 1979)
Working Abroad: Today's Tentmaking Challenge by Philip Nunn (Overcomer Press Inc. 1990)
World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative Study of Churches
98 and Religions in the Modern World, AD 1900 to 2000 by David B. Barrett (Oxford University Press 1982)
Your Work Matters to God by Dave Sherman and William Hendricks (Nav. Press 1987)
99 Appendix F Restricted Access Nations
As situations are changing in the world everyday, please refer to this list only for an impression of who and what is restricted. If you would like more information, I would suggest contacting the US Center for World Missions, or International Research Office, WEC U.K.
Restricted Access Countries Based on Religious Freedom and Accessibility
1. Extremely Restricted: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kampuchea, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Mauritania, North Korea, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Vietnam, Yemen
2. Highly Restricted: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Burma, China, Comoros, Egypt, Guinea, Malaysia, Maldives, Mo- rocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Oman, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda
3. Moderately Restricted: Bangladesh, Brunei, Burundi, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Israel, Jordan, Mada- gascar, Mali, Malta, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Sao Tome & Principe, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Togo,Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zimbabwe
4. Emerging Restrictions: Chile, Colombia, Commonwealth of Independent States, Costa Rica, Lebanon, Mexico, Panama, Taiwan,
100 101