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Review Summary: Current Partnerships versus the Apostle Paul |
Date: 2007-09-18 |
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Details: This book is the publication of Chris Little's doctoral dissertation at Fuller Seminary's School of Intercultural Studies in Pasadena, CA. He submits this work as following in the tradition of men like Henry Venn, Rufus Anderson, John Nevius, Roland Allen, David Paton, Donald McGavran, Vincent Donovan, and Melvin Hodges. By emphasizing Paul's missionary methods as still applicable today, he seeks to overturn the current missionary paradigm embodied in the "International Partnership Movement" (IPM). By the IPM, Little means the financial arrangement whereby western Christians support the work of non-western Christians through "partnerships." Some have called this movement the "just-support-nationals" movement. Little sees this approach as contrary to Paul's practice, saying, "there is just as much one can learn from Paul's orthopraxy as his orthodoxy" (p. 2).
Little's thesis is "when the church engaged in cross-cultural mission ignores Pauline orthopraxy, especially in relation to the proper use of finances, it places unnecessary obstacles in the path of the missio Dei" (p. 3). By missio Dei, he means "God's missional intent to make himself known through the multitude of cultures in existence" (p. 3-4).
Perhaps surprisingly, Little begins his assessment of Paul by examining his socioeconomic status. He maintains that Paul was initially part of the social elite of Judaism, but probably lost all that prestige as a result of his conversion to Christ. He was a leatherworker in the Jewish rabbi tradition of having a trade, but as a Christian he used his occupation to be a self-supporting missionary. This stood as an example to his converts of the dignity of manual labor and it avoided any possible accusation that he preached for financial gain. His manual labor reduced his status to nearly that of a slave, but it was strategic for evangelism. Little concludes that there is no way to use Paul as a precedent for supporting either missionaries or nationals with regular salaries.
Little describes Paul's missionary motivation as doxological, since he was consumed by Christ's glory as he experienced it on the road to Damascus. Paul's motivation stands in contrast to the humanitarian motivation of the IPM, since Paul understood that the Holy Spirit opposes dependency in believers. Paul promoted local sustainability and responsibility for churches he planted, and he did not set out to transform society through his mission work. Rather, he worked for the glorification of Jesus Christ above all.
Biblical scholars today have often tried to separate Paul's orthodoxy from his orthopraxy, with the result that they remake Paul into a scholar in their particular discipline. Little contends that Paul's orthodoxy and orthopraxy are inseparable, and missionaries should take note of his methods as exemplary for today's missions. Despite the recent emphasis on incarnational missions, the incarnation was unique to Jesus, so there are aspects of Jesus' ministry that cannot be copied today. Paul, however, specifically asks to be imitated five times in his letters, so he serves as our missionary model.
In a chapter on how the early churches shared resources, Little indicated that rich Christians in Jerusalem initially sold property or possessions to aid the poorer church members affected by persecution or famine. Later on, offerings came to Jerusalem first from Antioch, and then from all the Gentile churches. Little emphasizes that these offerings were never used to induce non-Christians to convert to Christ. Only when Christianity became the official Roman religion under Emperor Constantine were enticements offered to bring about conversions. Little also contends that the main aim of the offerings delivered to Jerusalem was not humanitarian, but was primarily to promote unity between Gentile and Jewish churches as well as an eschatological statement whereby Gentile offerings coming to Jerusalem might provoke the Jews to jealousy and bring about their salvation. Therefore, it is difficult to use these offerings as a model for missional tasks and interchurch aid today as the IPM and others have tried to do.
The IPM has become the paradigm of choice among many who hail it as the most effective postcolonial model for missions. Little draws attention to the immensity of the current operations of the IPM. The figures for 2004 show that 143 Christian agencies specifically support overseas partners. The four largest of these agencies are Partners International, Christian Aid Mission, Gospel for Asia, and Overseas Council International. These four had combined disbursements of $53.5 million in 2004 to support at least 22,000 individuals overseas in a "partnership" that involves a one-way transfer of resources from western to non-western churches and agencies. Such a one-sided partnership creates dependency and paternalism and does not bring the intended results that it claims to bring. Foreign funding of church workers ends up thwarting church growth in the long run. Little points out that such transfers of resources are not rightly called cross-cultural missions, because they are actually member care for existing non-western churches. These were not Paul's mission methods.
In his conclusion, Little emphasizes that Paul had a doxological rather than humanitarian approach to missions. If he were here today, he would surely dismantle the dependency syndrome, avoid making Christianity seem so foreign, encourage local responsibility, wean non-western churches from their dependence on western churches, and favor localization to globalization in the current Pax Americana. Paul would remove missions from its current association with western economic imperialism and would de-westernize the world Christian movement.
Christopher Little's hard-hitting assessment of the IPM demands renewed commitment to biblical principles in missions. What seems best to this generation may simply be creating problems for future generations of missionaries and local churches around the world. Far better to search the writings of Paul prayerfully and emulate his sound mission principles than to espouse methods that look good but actually create dependency and sap the vitality of world Christianity.
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Review Summary: This Book Is a Classic |
Date: 2007-01-10 |
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Details: It is not uncommon for a Ph.D. dissertation to be published as a book, and it is not uncommon for those publications to collect dust on academic bookshelves. Occasionally, a dissertation becomes a book of immediate and far-reaching influence. You'll never see Mission in the Way of Paul on the "Christian Bestseller List," but this is a work already demanding a response by the decision makers and world changers in the field of mission. The fact that it is published as part of Peter Lang Publishing's highly-respected Studies in Biblical Literature series says all you need to know about the quality of research, logical development and theological integrity. If you have any interest in the Christian mission, you need to read this book. Or, as Paul might say, "I beseech you, brethren, to read this book!"
Little's main concern is to challenge missionaries and mission agencies to be just as concerned for Pauline orthopraxy as they are for Pauline orthodoxy. His particular focus is on the financial responsibility of missionary churches and the need to avoid dependency on outside funds. His historical, biblical and logical arguments are formidable.
In 1912, Roland Allen wrote a missionary classic entitled Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? Without question that book is one of the most influential mission books of the past century and continues to challenge thinking to this day. Little's book follows the same theme. Little's research and development of this theme, however, far surpasses Allen's. Sadly, the academic weight of Little's book will probably prevent it from becoming as popular as Allen's, which is a very easy and compelling read. Though not as easy to read, Little's Mission in the Way of Paul is perfectly accessible to the informed and interested layman and is certainly compelling. If you liked Allen's book, you owe it yourself and to God to prayerfully read this one by Christopher Little.
Little presents fascinating information and theories about the personal development and family background of the Apostle Paul. That section alone was worth the considerable price of this book and has implications for many aspects of biblical study, not just missiology. Those interested in ecclesiology and discipleship will find just as much benefit in this book as missiologists. Students of the life of Paul will find riches here and a marvelous bibliography. You may not agree with all of Little's conclusions about Pauline orthopraxy concerning finances, but if you read this you will definitely have to decide if your approach to missions is based on pragmatism or biblical principle. |
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out of 2 Reviews
