Asking for your wage

Some mission organisations get their missionaries to ask for money directly and others do not. Some of the reasons I've heard for not asking are because: God has promised to provide; he has told us not to worry about this; asking for money is never included in the duties of a pastor and his focus should be elsewhere; and Paul only ever asks for money for other people. So rather than being asked, congregations should be taught from the Bible that they should give.

However, it seems to me that if a worker has a right to wages and if it is good for people to give, then there can be nothing wrong with asking. Not asking looks a bit like adding extra laws to me - if all that has been prohibited is not worrying and if all that has been commanded is teaching and shepherding the flock, then why add an extra rule (do not ask for money) - why not just ask for money while being obedient to these things?

I think the strongest argument for not asking is God's assurance of provision (Mt 6:25-34) - and yet if "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" does not rule out working for a living (as in commanded elsewhere in Scripture), then there is no particular reason to think that it also rules out asking for your wage.

Learning to rejoice

After I'd been chewing over with a friend what it means to rejoice in God even in suffering, Peter Brain (the Anglican Bishop of Armidale) preached at college. He spoke about how thankfulness can stand strong through suffering and can diminish sorrow, bitterness and despair. It's hard to go too far along those paths if you are always thankful.

So I got to thinking that thankfulness might be the first step towards praise and rejoicing. It's more concrete and easier to grasp, so even people who haven't begun to comprehend and praise God for his love and mercy can at least be thankful that their sins are forgiven and that he has protected their life today. I don't think you should ever lose thankfulness but I think you might learn to add praise and rejoicing to it. I think I'll write more about this later.

Language

A missionary from France said that it takes:

• 2 1/2 years to get the basics of the language
• 3 or 4 years before people stop commenting on your language proficiency and start commenting on the content of your sermons (those French!)
• 6 or 7 years to understand the church and culture enough to be able to successfully argue your case for changing the ways things are done - and perhaps longer to have it understood as you intended
• 10 years to master the language

He also mentioned something about patience.

The barbaric West

A missionary from the Ukraine came to college and talked about the post-communist mindset. He said that up until 2001 he had people asking him, "Did you really use to sacrifice your children?".

Up and comers

More missionary wisdom: "Select hard and train easy". This ensures a) you get the right men and women for the job and b) that you don't exclude people due to low education or whatever.

Sneaking a look at the Pope's correspondence

This is a fascinating letter from the Pope to the church in China.

Things to pray for

Your church could put out a flier of things people can pray for each day of the week (for the church's ministries, the world around etc etc). Change it every month.

H/T Cowra Presbyterian