Scriptural or Not? 2

As you continue looking for verses to prove my last post and assertion wrong, I want us to look at the insane cost implications of following the unscriptural route.

And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. (Luke 9:3)

In simple terms, Jesus commanded His disciples to take absolutely nothing when they went for missions.

Everything, from their security (stave or staff) to an extra article of clothing, was the responsibility of the man of peace.

(By the way, man of peace is a word that that has been coined to describe what Jesus expected from the communities He was sending His disciples to)

Jesus therefore expects nothing of those He sends on mission except their spiritual preparation and availability?

The rest would be dependent on the household that will receive him and the message he carries.

No wonder the judgment due to the one rejecting the messenger was to be so dire. You see, rejecting the messenger means rejecting the message, and of course the Originator of it.

They were not to plead to be taken aboard. And they were not to do advance diplomacy to scout for the man of peace. They started their journey to the place they were sent to.

Another important thing to mention is that the messenger did not dictate on the kind of hospitality he would receive. He took whatever he was given. He was not expected to demand or even expect preferential treatment. He ate what they ate, slept where they slept and simply lived as they lived. The only difference was that he had a message he was bringing to them.

Contrast that with the way we do ministry and missions today.

A pastor automatically expects special treatment (remember the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ times?)

A mission is a capital intensive venture. Look at the amounts being wasted (I am using this word with my last post as a basis) planning a mission. In fact the budget spent on the survey itself can support a genuine missionary for years. Yet very little actual mission work results from those thrusts.

Look at the amounts of money being spent on ‘hiring’ a professional evangelist to preach in a mega crusade. Look at the monies being spent hiring or buying sound equipment and also hiring instrumentalists and ‘worship leaders’ (dance troupes and psyching singers). Yet the only fruit is decisions, decisions that have no impact on church attendance or societal transformation.

As we were discussing my friend mentioned a crusade where there were more decisions than the total population of that area.

What is God saying about the way we have been doing our evangelism? Are we willing to change it to be in tandem with God’s revealed strategy?

To make the point clearer, suppose with me that this call came in our times.

Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have for them.

What would it entail? What kind of budget would it require? How much giving would it require before the two finally set off for their mission?

That is how far we have strayed from God’s order of things.

Like the Pharisees, we have substituted God’s word with our traditions. And we will look at those traditions in a later post.

Will we pray that God makes our hearts willing to agree with His vision for reaching the world with His good news? Will we change our methods when they do not agree with His?