I've officially dived into support raising. I haven't received a paycheck since the end of May, and I won't start receiving funds from SportQuest until I've met my support raising goals. So I'm in the gap. I've leapt from the relative financial security of full time teaching, into a season of support raising and team building. I'm sending letters, making calls, and setting up face to face meetings with as many people as possible to share the vision the Lord has given me for sports ministry in Baton Rouge and to lay out financial goals that I have set to be able to pursue this vision.
This current season requires me to live day to day without knowing where funds to cover basic expenses will come from. I suppose it's like doing the trust fall with Jesus. By "trust fall" I mean that thing most of us have done in some kind of team building exercise or at a summer camp where we stand on a platform and fall backwards into the arms of our teammates. But instead of just doing it one time, I am doing it Every. Single. Day.
I wake up in the morning and sit on the cliff and look out onto a horizon that seems cluttered with living expenses, bills, and other things that cost money, and I choose to stand, turn my back on the anxiety, and fall into God's promise of "daily bread." I have to remind myself that all things belong to God and that He promises to provide.
A teacher I heard recently put it this way: Worry is trying to take care of tomorrow's need with today's resources.
While you might be sitting back thinking missionaries are in some kind of special spiritual class of people (one extreme, what I call "the shine") -- or that raising support is really just an excuse to be lazy and live off of the hard work of others (the other extreme, what I call "the shame") -- and maybe you've been in church services or spoken with missionaries who encouraged these myths -- I want to give you a glimpse of the truth from God's Word and from my experiences in this season of life so far.
First, God's Word is clear that all Christians are called to take up our crosses daily and follow Him. In case we aren't sure what that looks like, it's mapped out for us in several places in the Bible. One of my favorite passages demonstrates the downward spiral of cross-bearing. It often means moving in the exact opposite direction the world might expect.
There is just one Christ, one Way, one kind of Christian. Missionaries are not super-spiritual people who are held to higher standards or asked to do harder things than other Christians. All Christians are called to fulfill the Great Commission by proclaiming the gospel wherever we are. Some people who we deem "missionaries" are pursuing the Great Commission as a full-time career.
Now to address the shame. Because the question is, is raising support and living on resources provided by others a sign of lazy dependency? The Bible is clear that working in general is valuable, and that work, including missions work, is worthy of wages. The wages for full-time Great Commission work often come from the community, such as the tithes and sacrifices of the Israelite people that provided for the priests, the offerings in the contemporary church that cover pastor salaries, or the donations given by people to nonprofit organizations to support various causes.
All of us are called to various forms of work, and we are all stewarding resources (time, talent, money, etc.) that belong to the Lord. Resources ultimately should be flowing back into God's Kingdom (since they belong to Him anyway), and one avenue of directing them that way is supporting Kingdom building work being done by missionaries. One of the books I've read recently calls this action of directing resources back to the Kingdom treasure transplanting.
From the examples above, I can see that missions work is just as valuable and worthy of wages as other work, and that raising support is a God-designed way of pursuing this work that provides for the needs of the worker and also binds them into community with others, who are storing treasures in heaven through their giving. Based on this, then, I can't draw such bold lines between "regular" Christian and "missionary" Christian (the temptation when I get hung up on the shine) or between "support raising" and "working" (the temptation when I get hung up on the shame) as our Western culture is often tempted to do. It's uncomfortable to erase these lines because it means I can't let myself off the hook as much as I'd like to when it comes to being a Christian and handling my resources. We're all following the same Savior and pursuing the same Kingdom building goals and stewarding resources from the same pot (God's stuff).
In case there's still some lingering shine/shame to missions work and support raising in your mind, let me share a bit of the work God is doing on my heart in this season. A good friend and I were chatting a couple of weeks ago. She's the kind of friend who I can share my dirt with and who will sit and sympathize with me for a while, but who will also always point me to Jesus and encourage me to stand back up and keep moving forward. So I was lamenting about my current situation and telling her about how hard my summer has been financially and how frightening living in the gap can be.
My friend lamented with me for a bit and then redirected the conversation to what she called the "God Room," which according to a book she read is a place where we face needs that we know can't be met by human abilities, and so it's where only God can work. It's a great concept and it's encouraging to me that all of us enter, and probably sit in, the God room for moments or even entire seasons of our lives. But in case the "God Room" makes it sound like ministry is all about the shine, I want to share where my head/heart went as my friend explained the God Room to me. I thought about it for a few seconds, agreed with her that I'm definitely in the God Room at the moment, and then laughed. "If I was a more mature Christian," I told her, "I might be excited to be entering a season in the God room where I know my faith is going to grow and I'm going to become closer to God...but right now I actually kind of feel like the God room is a panic room and I got dragged in here kicking and screaming." We had a belly laugh. Sometimes it takes every ounce of courage I have to choose to stay in the God room and just sit still.
A couple of days later, I was doing a devotion from support raising training materials I'm working my way through. The passage it directed me to was this:
I read that passage and all I could think was, Shoot, I don't want to be hungry.
Sometimes I go to God's Word looking for sunshine and instead He reminds me there will be days when I'll be moping my way through the wilderness, hungry or sitting in the Panic God Room and fighting the urge to run.
But there's peace in the promise of manna and in the consistency of His presence. Daily bread. So God, where's the manna?
Want to see more of what I'm up to in Baton Rouge? Check out this VIDEO!
This current season requires me to live day to day without knowing where funds to cover basic expenses will come from. I suppose it's like doing the trust fall with Jesus. By "trust fall" I mean that thing most of us have done in some kind of team building exercise or at a summer camp where we stand on a platform and fall backwards into the arms of our teammates. But instead of just doing it one time, I am doing it Every. Single. Day.
I wake up in the morning and sit on the cliff and look out onto a horizon that seems cluttered with living expenses, bills, and other things that cost money, and I choose to stand, turn my back on the anxiety, and fall into God's promise of "daily bread." I have to remind myself that all things belong to God and that He promises to provide.
"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" (Matthew 6:25-27)
A teacher I heard recently put it this way: Worry is trying to take care of tomorrow's need with today's resources.
While you might be sitting back thinking missionaries are in some kind of special spiritual class of people (one extreme, what I call "the shine") -- or that raising support is really just an excuse to be lazy and live off of the hard work of others (the other extreme, what I call "the shame") -- and maybe you've been in church services or spoken with missionaries who encouraged these myths -- I want to give you a glimpse of the truth from God's Word and from my experiences in this season of life so far.
First, God's Word is clear that all Christians are called to take up our crosses daily and follow Him. In case we aren't sure what that looks like, it's mapped out for us in several places in the Bible. One of my favorite passages demonstrates the downward spiral of cross-bearing. It often means moving in the exact opposite direction the world might expect.
"Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." (Philippians 2:6-8)
There is just one Christ, one Way, one kind of Christian. Missionaries are not super-spiritual people who are held to higher standards or asked to do harder things than other Christians. All Christians are called to fulfill the Great Commission by proclaiming the gospel wherever we are. Some people who we deem "missionaries" are pursuing the Great Commission as a full-time career.
Now to address the shame. Because the question is, is raising support and living on resources provided by others a sign of lazy dependency? The Bible is clear that working in general is valuable, and that work, including missions work, is worthy of wages. The wages for full-time Great Commission work often come from the community, such as the tithes and sacrifices of the Israelite people that provided for the priests, the offerings in the contemporary church that cover pastor salaries, or the donations given by people to nonprofit organizations to support various causes.
"Remember that the Levitical priests--that is, the whole of the tribe of Levi--will receive no allotment of land among the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the special gifts given to the Lord, for that is their share. They will have no land of their own among the Israelites. The Lord himself is their special possession, just as he promised them." (Deuteronomy 18:1-2)
"Soon afterwards Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching an announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from who he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples." (Luke 8:1-3)
"The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Don't take any money with you, nor a traveler's bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don't stop to greet anyone on the road. Whenever you enter someone's home, first say, 'May God's peace be on this house.' If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don't move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay." (Luke 10:2-7)
All of us are called to various forms of work, and we are all stewarding resources (time, talent, money, etc.) that belong to the Lord. Resources ultimately should be flowing back into God's Kingdom (since they belong to Him anyway), and one avenue of directing them that way is supporting Kingdom building work being done by missionaries. One of the books I've read recently calls this action of directing resources back to the Kingdom treasure transplanting.
"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:19-21)
From the examples above, I can see that missions work is just as valuable and worthy of wages as other work, and that raising support is a God-designed way of pursuing this work that provides for the needs of the worker and also binds them into community with others, who are storing treasures in heaven through their giving. Based on this, then, I can't draw such bold lines between "regular" Christian and "missionary" Christian (the temptation when I get hung up on the shine) or between "support raising" and "working" (the temptation when I get hung up on the shame) as our Western culture is often tempted to do. It's uncomfortable to erase these lines because it means I can't let myself off the hook as much as I'd like to when it comes to being a Christian and handling my resources. We're all following the same Savior and pursuing the same Kingdom building goals and stewarding resources from the same pot (God's stuff).
In case there's still some lingering shine/shame to missions work and support raising in your mind, let me share a bit of the work God is doing on my heart in this season. A good friend and I were chatting a couple of weeks ago. She's the kind of friend who I can share my dirt with and who will sit and sympathize with me for a while, but who will also always point me to Jesus and encourage me to stand back up and keep moving forward. So I was lamenting about my current situation and telling her about how hard my summer has been financially and how frightening living in the gap can be.
My friend lamented with me for a bit and then redirected the conversation to what she called the "God Room," which according to a book she read is a place where we face needs that we know can't be met by human abilities, and so it's where only God can work. It's a great concept and it's encouraging to me that all of us enter, and probably sit in, the God room for moments or even entire seasons of our lives. But in case the "God Room" makes it sound like ministry is all about the shine, I want to share where my head/heart went as my friend explained the God Room to me. I thought about it for a few seconds, agreed with her that I'm definitely in the God Room at the moment, and then laughed. "If I was a more mature Christian," I told her, "I might be excited to be entering a season in the God room where I know my faith is going to grow and I'm going to become closer to God...but right now I actually kind of feel like the God room is a panic room and I got dragged in here kicking and screaming." We had a belly laugh. Sometimes it takes every ounce of courage I have to choose to stay in the God room and just sit still.
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14)
A couple of days later, I was doing a devotion from support raising training materials I'm working my way through. The passage it directed me to was this:
"Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by everyone word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
I read that passage and all I could think was, Shoot, I don't want to be hungry.
Sometimes I go to God's Word looking for sunshine and instead He reminds me there will be days when I'll be moping my way through the wilderness, hungry or sitting in the
But there's peace in the promise of manna and in the consistency of His presence. Daily bread. So God, where's the manna?
- What kind of trust fall is God asking you to take today?
- Are you in the God Room? How does it feel?
Want to see more of what I'm up to in Baton Rouge? Check out this VIDEO!
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