Courageous men wanted!
What is it about us guys that make us so slow in putting our hands up for long-term mission service? Short-term, for sure. Locally based ministries, absolutely. Bible college courses, yup still going there too. But here at WEC we seem to be forever praying for more men to train and go…particularly of the single variety. I’m married, and married young for that matter, so I can hardly talk…but I’m going to stick my neck out and say that it seems that women are way more courageous on this front than men. Women seem much more willing to step out and begin pioneer mission without a life-partner than men…ouch!
What’s seriously ironic though (and pretty fleshly too) is that there are plenty of quality, godly, passionate and gifted single women training for or immersed in cross-cultural mission. For goodness sake guys, isn’t that a pretty good motive right there! Nah seriously, we need more “holy unction” than that, but I still struggle to get my head around where all the guys are. Surely God is calling more men than we are seeing dribble through the pipeline. Kiwis have got loads of good stuff to contribute to multi-cultural teams...c’mon guys!
Comments
Today's generation like
Today's generation like flavours. There is the long term committed flavour, and there are other flavours too that get the job done. One of those flavours is the opportunity to work in one's profession in another part of the world and be a part of a full-time team too. Why can't a guy have it all? Paul did. The need for a guy to develop a profession is very important to them, and their position in community, future prospects etc - it is innate in their needs. All power to WEC to open up a genuine tentmaking front, and welcome this flavour of guys with open arms into mixed teams with mission career full-timers.
I totally agree that there
I totally agree that there are loads of different models and "flavours" that God is using - let's be open to all of them, knowing that some are a "best fit" for one but not for another. I'm not anti-professions...I have one myself, but I can speak pretty confidently that most of the agencies across the country are scratching their heads over the same dilemma here. I actually don't think tentmaking is the issue at all...in fact tentmakers are more than welcome in WEC, and have been very effective on a number of WEC teams for some time. As an aside, I'm not sure if Paul ever saw his profession as something to develop and secure future prospects either, so much as the genuine means from which to go about what God had put on his heart, without being a burden to others. There's a whole spectrum of tentmaker models - all of which can make vital contributions...for me it comes down to attitude and mindsets. I for one though still long to see a steady stream of men wanting to be used of God in different and difficult cultural contexts, yes even through their professional skill set.
I think there is already a
I think there is already a mission force (many are men)placed in many countries ready to go right now. They are working in full time professions and wonder why they are there. I think they can be harnessed into a vision for the country they are working in, but the flexibility to accommodate their needs may be a stretch for a number of traditional agencies whose systems are based around the full-time trainied missionary worker. A tentmaking model is a different animal but potentially much, much more effective due to the relational nature of work and its legitimacy.
If only we could harness that
If only we could harness that potential group eh. Any ideas how best to do this? I/we would seriously love to explore this with you. You've graciously (and rightly) pointed out the inflexibility of some agencies to truly accommodate professionals but let's not paint all with the same brush. There are many that are well up with the changing face of mission and have/or are restructuring and repositioning themselves accordingly...I believe WEC NZ is one of those. However, when it comes to WEC International it probably comes down to the actual team on the ground in that country at that time, rather than any head or national office philosophy.
My last post mentioned the importance of attitudes and mindsets...for me this is huge. What took these professionals there in the first place? How open are they to work in unity with multicultural teams, buying into the collectively shaped team vision and values, and seeking to use all means (including tentmaking) to see the whole gospel expressed and established among those peoples? If these professionals genuinely have a heart for God's mission and are really open to see their workplace with this missional filter, then it isn't hard to find agencies who value what tentmakers and business as mission can contribute. Many of these people could easily link up with like-minded agencies before heading out somewhere. In the last year alone we've helped send medical, financial, educational and engineering professionals. Our opportunities database has a host of other professions needed right now...ya get the picture.
This has been quite a rambling (apologies!) but I'd also like to add (as someone who has had experience on both sides of the fence) that we need to be careful we don't make one model out to be the answer...I've found cross-cultural mission to be way more messy and complex than that. We do though need the whole church to get involved...thanks for raising the issue so well, wanna talk more over coffee or the phone??
Post new comment