2005-06-03

Foreign Money

In Asian society, the one who pays the money is the boss. And the boss is not to be questioned. They will do what they are told, and even what they are not told. In other words, they are always reading between the lines, a trait necessary for communication in an Asian context, to find out what they think you want them to do.

Money can produce ugly results when applied to Christian work. If a national pastor received funds to support his work for the Lord, he would apply all the unspoken expectations of the one who gave the money to his work. He feels he is being paid to fulfill the values of the one giving the money, the values as he has interpreted them.

The first prayer point (more to follow in later journal entries) is simple: when money is applied to spiritual work, the work turns secular. The goals are numbers not souls, results not the glory of God. Let's pray for the Dong pastors as they struggle with this new and formerly unknown problem.

Father, you understand the hearts of our Dong brothers and sisters, and the hearts of those giving the money. We can just start to see how tempting this money could be to these Dong pastors who have so little and have a hard road to walk. We ask you to give wisdom to these few pastors and teach them to rely on Christ alone and seek the Scriptures for direction.
It is very tempting to take the easy road, but we pray that you would lead them to struggle for you, allow you to provide for them from within their own Dong church, so that you, not foreigners, receive the glory for the things accomplished among the Dong people.

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