Today is BIRTHDAY DAY for:
(1) My Dad – I love you Dad!!
(2) My Sister-in-Law – Happy Birthday, Toni!
(3) and My niece – We’re so proud of you, Laura!
Thank goodness for the time difference…it’s just about midnight here on the 25th (their special day) and I just now got out the e-cards (it’s still early evening in Texas!)
===================
Had a wonderful but exhausting 8-hour leadership meeting today. One of the topics on the agenda was their question about what the Scriptures say about paying preachers (they would all love to be on a salary paid for by us American missionaries…not going to happen I’m afraid). I was giving them a brief overview of what the Bible says....using examples of the life of Paul (tentmaking on some occasions so as not to be a burden, and at other times giving himself completely to the proclamation of the Gospel and receiving gifts from the Macedonian churches). Then I proceeded to explain a seemingly new thought to them concerning the Levites in the Old Testament. I’m no OT scholar, but I think I got the point across that the Levites received no inheritance (unlike all the other tribes of Israel) and were therefore totally dependent on the tithes and offerings of the other Israelites.
Interesting response ensued……
In America, not too many people are clamoring for a preaching post because the money is so good (although most ministered are blessed in America to receive more than adequate salaries for the most part). I don’t know many who think, “Wow, I’m a preacher, I’m set!” But that's America. Most people assume that, in thinking about the money issue alone, they can do better financially in a secular job than one can do in ministry.
In Benin, the leaders sat around the group today and upon hearing God’s plan for the Levites, they all said with shouts in their smiles, “Wow, it must be great to be a Levite!” Perplexed if by chance I missed something in the language gap…they said, “No, we think the Levites must have had it great. Everyone was obligated to give something to them...so therefore, they had a stable income and it came in from all the other tribes.” It was like…in their mind, surrounding by a sea of poverty (and a lot of income instability from their rural agricultural lifestyle), if they were promised tithes and offerings for doing God’s work, then being a preacher could be a great gig! Different worlds, different perspectives.
I don’t mean to disrespect or insult American preachers who receive good salaries. Matt 10:10 gives you authority as a proclaimer of His Good News to receive your wages (and I personally think they should be proportionate to the Body you are a part of). And I don’t mean to mock my Aja brothers, somehow giving you the idea that all of them are just in this for the money. Far from the truth. Just a funny perspective.
-Randy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I think this illustrates am important difference on how we and our African brothers and sisters look on "dependency." You explained to the Aja brothers that the Levites "were therefore totally dependent on the tithes and offerings of the other Israelites." To us as Americans, this is a curse--independence is bred into us as a priority. We don't want to be dependent, and we assume that no one else wants to be.
Problem is, dependency is considered pretty nice by some if those you are dependent on is dependable--if you can count on them to be faithful to their promises.
OK, you can already see where I'm going. We are ALL dependent whether we want to admit it or not. And the One on whom we depend is absolutely faithful. The challenge here is to get both ourselves and our African friends to depend on Him, and not on something far less secure. It's a tough lesson for me to learn--I continually have to remind myself, "How could I be more secure than allowing myself to be totally dependent on God?"
See you for lunch Tuesday!
Thanks for the birthday wishes. We had a great day.
Toni
Randy,
This is an important discussion. There are so many ways the "professional ministry" can be done wrong in the mission field, creating overseas dependency and ultimately bitterness. It's refreshing to see you opening up the Bible and guiding the church into dialogue with scripture. In doing that we form dependency on "every word that comes from the mouth of God." Blessings.
Russ
Post a Comment