# Meeting social/material needs as platform for the gospel?



## steadfast7 (Apr 14, 2011)

What do you brethren think about missions today that use social programs, health care, micro-enterprise development, etc, as a platform to gain an audience for the preaching of the gospel? 

It's important that I specify that this is NOT a question of whether Christians should engage in these things as a means of demonstrating our faith through acts of love. While this may be one of the motives for missionaries, my suspicion is that these initiatives are often used as an entry-way into people's hearts "assisting" them toward a positive response to the gospel.

On a certain level, the maxim is perfectly reasonable: "people don't care what you know unless they _know that you care."_ But doesn't that cheapen the gospel? It's almost an admission that the pure gospel is 1) irrelevant to people's everyday lives, 2) needs help in gaining access into sinners' hearts, and 3) the real point of the gospel is so your quality of life on earth can improve.

But, on the other hand, we know it's an influential strategy. Many historians of missions will tell you the good works of Christians that has made the biggest impact for the church's expansion.


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## Jack K (Apr 14, 2011)

We should avoid bait-and-switch strategies, where we hook people with one thing only because we're trying to get them to buy another. Such strategies just aren't as honest as Christians ought to be.

However, as long as we aren't being subtly dishonest I think it's fine to minister to people in ways they will accept at first, hoping to be able to minister to them more fully in the future. Let's just be open (which doesn't necessarily mean pushy) about the whole thing.


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## he beholds (Apr 14, 2011)

I agree with Jack. I think serving is a great way to minister to people, but it is not the Gospel. *We should help others because God has enabled us to love them,* but it's not a transaction: I love you, you accept the Gospel.

Remember, Christ said that they will know we are his by how we love_ one another_, that is, the church. It doesn't say people will know that we are His by how we love them. No, it's how we love our already-brethren. The love that they see among us will be the evidence. 


> John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.


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## steadfast7 (Apr 14, 2011)

Thanks for the good thoughts. To explore further, if the missionary were to be brutally honest with what's going on in the heart, I'm sure he'll find that it's very difficult to be motivated by pure altruistic love and honesty when using these implements in his gospel approach. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wants to succeed in winning souls and knows that psychology plays a big part in that process; he doesn't want to be rejected because of the offensive gospel, so he will bring helps that the people _are_ interested in, in order to endear himself to them at first before presenting the gospel to warmed hearts and filled stomachs. This is the thinking of most missionaries - including myself, admittedly. But something's not right in my mind: hasn't he failed to put utmost trust in the gospel as God's power unto salvation? Isn't he convinced that eternal salvation is infinitely more important than earthly needs? just thinkin' ...


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## Scott1 (Apr 14, 2011)

Big topic, and requires context.

The great call for the church is to teach the gospel, and teach the Word of God.


> Matthew 28
> 19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
> 
> 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.




Implicitly is the development of community built around that, and particularly the ordinances of worship- Word, sacrament, church discipline. Fellowship, mercy, accountability, discipleship, recreation, friendships all flow from that central purpose.

The reverse is not true.

From, e.g. mercy work, does not necessarily flow the ordinances through which the ordinary means of grace flow.

There is general truth in the notion, that God is in fact, redeeming everything- even recreation, micro-business, etc. But that is not the end of His church on this earth. Nor is such as substitute for covenant community and accountability.

After all, I can teach wise money management, even stewardship, easily outside of the church, and with only tangential mention of Christian faith and practice, that God demands of all of life.

More-and-more, I'm understanding the need for thoroughgoing discipleship, biblical accountability in community as the great companion need of "sharing the gospel."

Not so much the latter pared only with recreation, mercy, fellowship- as they are not ends unto themselves. 

God has, is and will seek those who worship Him in Spirit (by the gospel) and in truth (by His Word).



> John 4:23
> 
> 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.


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## he beholds (Apr 14, 2011)

Serving is perhaps the means to a relationship with the unreached. I don't think merely stating the Gospel to a stranger is as effective as sharing the Gospel with someone whom you know. 
But say we're talking about people we already work with. Sure, it'd be wise to just share the Gospel with them, since we already love them daily. We wouldn't need to offer the meeting of social or material needs. We'd just share the Gospel within the context of that already established relationship. But if your object was to bring the Gospel to people that you don't know, I think serving is a vehicle.


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## Pergamum (Apr 14, 2011)

If you love a person, you will want to bless him as wholly as possible. We cannot say, "Be ye warmed" without also at least desiring to give the cold person a jacket if we have one, and we cannot say, "Be ye filled" seriously, if we have food and refuse to share it.

I John 3:17: 



> 16By this we know love, that(AG) he laid down his life for us, and(AH) we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17But(AI) if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet(AJ) closes his heart against him,(AK) how does God’s love abide in him? 18Little children, let us not(AL) love in word or talk but in deed and(AM) in truth.




Our intentions are important. It is not as though we are trying to buy converts with our good deeds. Nor are we even trying to buy a hearing. But, if we can guard our hearts, we are trying to love a people in all their dimensions of humanity, as a spiritual and a material creature. Just as Jesus went preaching and healing throughout all the villages, we are not to separate our activities into spiritual love and physical love.

Misssionaries have always been at the forefront of humanitarian work, from literacy to opposing evil injustices, to increasing education, to relief and development work. Only during the last hundred years or so did the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversies drive a wedge between the Gospel and good works. It is time we repair the breach.


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## Edward (Apr 14, 2011)

Scott, thanks again for a solid post that addresses the issue.


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## steadfast7 (Apr 14, 2011)

let me play devil's advocate for a minute ..


Pergamum said:


> If you love a person, you will want to bless him as wholly as possible. We cannot say, "Be ye warmed" without also at least desiring to give the cold person a jacket if we have one, and we cannot say, "Be ye filled" seriously, if we have food and refuse to share it.


 
But isn't this addressing our behaviour with our fellow "brother" (ie. believers)



> Our intentions are important. It is not as though we are trying to buy converts with our good deeds. Nor are we even trying to buy a hearing. But, if we can guard our hearts, we are trying to love a people in all their dimensions of humanity, as a spiritual and a material creature. Just as Jesus went preaching and healing throughout all the villages, we are not to separate our activities into spiritual love and physical love.



But wasn't Jesus' healing and miraculous signs evidence that the kingdom was breaking into the fallen world? He did not use it to convert, did he? In fact, it was too his frustration that people believed in him on account of signs, John 4:48, 12:37. The signs are actually supposed to accompany "those that believe", Mark 16:17. Therefore it seems that the biblical pattern is for preaching to come first, then expect signs and good works to happen in the context of the church, Acts 2:42ff.

Don't get me wrong, I think Christians should be on the forefront of humanitarian aid and good works, and we should be the best at it. But in a missions context, isn't it better to assume that our hearts are weak and our intentions not sound? How does a missionary avoid the bait-and-switch strategy? We want them to sit and listen to the gospel once we've taught about water sanitation, and we want a church planted by the time we've finished dispensing aid to a community - the temptation to think this way is too great. I totally understand World Vision going and helping the poor with community development and expecting nothing from the people "in return", and I totally get the missionary going to the unreached and preaching the gospel for conversion. It's the mingling of those two things, with good works _always_ coming first (how convenient), and used as a means of conversion, that doesn't seem right.


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## Pergamum (Apr 15, 2011)

steadfast7 said:


> let me play devil's advocate for a minute ..
> 
> 
> Pergamum said:
> ...


 
Dennis,

You said:




> Don't get me wrong, I think Christians should be on the forefront of humanitarian aid and good works, and we should be the best at it. But in a missions context, isn't it better to assume that our hearts are weak and our intentions not sound? How does a missionary avoid the bait-and-switch strategy?



We should still do good even if our hearts are imperfect. We certainly shouldn't use our impure motives as a reason to refrain from helping those that need it. 




> But isn't this addressing our behaviour with our fellow "brother" (ie. believers)



In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the one who received help and the one who gave help were from peoples not exactly friendly with one another and yet one washed the other's wounds and gave money to help the distressed. Therefore, I would even say that if you meet a Hindu priest or a Muslim imam in dire distress and who is sick unto death and you are able to render some aid, then you should.


If you are constantly going into Hindu villages and advertizing your ministry as day-schools for children or health clinics, etc, I would just be open and honest and tell people up front, "We are here because we care, and we care because of Jesus. Even it weren't for Jesus, we would not be here and we would care less."


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## steadfast7 (Apr 15, 2011)

> > Don't get me wrong, I think Christians should be on the forefront of humanitarian aid and good works, and we should be the best at it. But in a missions context, isn't it better to assume that our hearts are weak and our intentions not sound? How does a missionary avoid the bait-and-switch strategy?
> 
> 
> 
> We should still do good even if our hearts are imperfect. We certainly shouldn't use our impure motives as a reason to refrain from helping those that need it.



Yes, we should be doing good regardless of our hearts. But humanitarian groups do these almost as an end in themselves, they don't use it as a platform for conversion. This is different from the missionary who wants converts and churches planted and uses aid to warm the community up toward accepting the gospel. 

I see it like this: suppose a chemisty nerd found the cure for cancer while working in his basement. I would want and expect that person to publish it and make it known as quickly and directly as possible. It would not be right for him to think, "the world is not ready to hear about the cure for cancer, especially from a kid like me, I better open a booth showing people how to use dental floss, and as they become more confident in my medical knowledge, I'll eventually get to the point where I share the cure for cancer." I see this parallel happening in missions. We have the very gospel of eternal salvation that we ought to make known as directly and passionately as possible. Yet, for whatever reason, our approach is to hand out aid for things that are infinitely less critical in hope that our message will have credibility and be better received. In the end, I'm probably going to go with the flow because i'm too cowardly to do otherwise, but Lord help my unbelief!


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## Pergamum (Apr 15, 2011)

I know of few strictly Christian humanitarian groups that do not have conversionist desires. Almost all would be hoping for conversions. But yes, I would agree with you that we should be vigorously evangelistic in all that we do.


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## steadfast7 (Apr 15, 2011)

It seems the bigger battle that lays ahead falls along the lines of what I heard said at a mission conference in Singapore a few years back: "Don't preach at all!" - the complete replacement of the gospel with humanitarian work.


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## Pergamum (Apr 15, 2011)

Aaargh! For some of the evangelical missionaries I have seen, I would be glad if they NEVER opened their mouths.


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## he beholds (Apr 15, 2011)

steadfast7 said:


> It seems the bigger battle that lays ahead falls along the lines of what I heard said at a mission conference in Singapore a few years back: "Don't preach at all!" - the complete replacement of the gospel with humanitarian work.


 
Yeah, but that's Christians everywhere : (
You know, "Preach the Gospel; If necessary, use words."

And that's an attractive thought--until you actually think about it. My life will never save anybody--it couldn't even save itself. But it sounds good. It sounds like we can do something. We like doing something.


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