Complexities of Money and Missions in Asia

Description

What happens when an expatriate missionary is thrust into a context where the standard of living is so divergent that perceived or actual wealth suddenly becomes the strongest draw of attraction? What actual message is communicated through the wordless witness of the Western Christian missionary lifestyle? Is attention to so-called good news now so financially focused that other foundational issues become overshadowed? This issue becomes even more complicated when the missionary arrives clueless about personal privilege, ignorant of the envy of others, and carries the mistaken attitude that others think similarly. SEANET proudly presents Complexities of Money and Missions in Asia for all who are asking such questions. From seven different indigenous and expatriate perspectives this volume deals with the perceptions of money specifically from those seeking to serve obediently in the Buddhist contexts of Asia. SEANET serves as a networking forum wherein groups and individuals can meet to reflect and strategize together on topics particular to their collective mission. SEANET does not promote one particular strategy or one particular theology but seeks to learn from models of hope that show what God is doing around the world. Each year the annual SEANET conference brings together over one hundred and fifty practitioners who are privileged to live and serve throughout the Buddhist world. The chapters of this volume represent seven of those voices from the network.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Philosophie et théologie
• Growth
• Christian Church

Informations

• Publié par: William Carey Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780878088959
• Langue: English

Extrait

OTHER TITLES IN THE SEANET SERIES
Vol. 1
Sharing Jesus in the Buddhist World
Vol. 2
Sharing Jesus Holistically in the Buddhist World
Vol. 3
Sharing Jesus Effectively in the Buddhist World
Vol. 4
Communicating Christ in the Buddhist World
Vol. 5
Communicating Christ through Story and Song: Orality in the Buddhist Contexts
Vol. 6
Communicating Christ in Asian Cities
Vol. 7
Family and Faith in Asia: The Missional Impact of Social Networks
Vol. 8
Suffering: Christian Reflections on Buddhist Dukkha

Complexities of Money and Missions in Asia
Copyright 2012 by Paul De Neui
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher, except brief quotations used in connection with reviews in magazines or newspapers.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, Today s New International Version TNIV . Copyright 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society . Used by permission of International Bible Society . All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by William Carey Library
1605 E. Elizabeth Street
Pasadena, CA 91104 | www.missionbooks.org
Brad Koenig, copyeditor
Hugh Pindur, graphic design
Rose Lee-Norman, indexer
William Carey Library is a ministry of the
U.S. Center for World Mission
Pasadena, CA | www.uscwm.org
Digital Ebook Release BP 2013
ISBN: 0-978-0-87808-841-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Complexities of money and missions in Asia / Paul H. De Neui, editor.
p. cm. - (SEANET series ; v. 9)
Proceedings of a SEANET conference held in 2011 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-87808-038-0
1. Missions to Buddhists-Congresses. 2. Christianity and other
religions-Buddhism-Congresses. 3.
Buddhism-Relations-Christianity-Congresses. 4. Money-Religious
aspects-Christianity-Congresses. 5. Money-Religious
aspects-Buddhism-Congresses. I. De Neui, Paul H.
BV2618.C68 2011
266.0088 2943-dc23
2011046132
CONTENTS
Other Titles in the Seanet Series
Introduction
Contributors
1. Buddhist Perceptions of the Christian Use of Funds in Sri Lanka
G. P. V. SOMARATNA
2. Personal Reflections on Financial Responsibility of Missionaries and Indigenous Churches
ALEX G. SMITH
3. Money and Missionary Lifestyle in the Buddhist World
ANDREW THOMAS
4. Possessions, Positions, and Power: Material Asymmetries and the Missionary Call
JONATHAN J. BONK
5. Partnerships, Money, and Dialogue in Buddhist Contexts
MARY T. LEDERLEITNER
6. Speaking of the Unspeakable: Money and Missions in Patron-client Buddhist Cultures
PAUL H. DE NEUI
7. Effective Partnerships for Church-Multiplication and Insider Movements
DAVID S. LIM
Index
Scripture Index
INTRODUCTION
The American sage Benjamin Franklin once wrote, Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. Perhaps it is this lack of contentment that has caused so many Westerners, including Christ followers, to exclude themselves from the category of the rich. The word of God came through the Apostle Paul, Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant (1 Tim 6:17), and Christians in the West respond, Surely, not I, Lord? The knowledge that godliness with contentment is great gain sounds fine in the home culture where there are always those with much more with whom one can compare. But what happens when a missionary is suddenly thrust into a context where the standard of living is so divergent that she or he is now the object of envy? What actual message is communicated through the wordless witness of the Western Christian missionary lifestyle? Is attraction to so-called good news now so financially focused that other foundational issues become overshadowed? This issue becomes even more complicated when the missionary arrives clueless about personal privilege, ignorant of the envy of others, and carries the mistaken attitude that others think similarly. As Austin O Malley once said, God shows his contempt for wealth by the kind of person he selects to receive it.
Buddhist teachings affirm that slavish attachment to the material attractions of this temporal world only results in greater personal and corporate suffering. Christian Scripture teaches that some, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Tim 6:10). Buddha said, Health is the highest gain, Contentment is the greatest wealth. The trusty are the best kinsmen ( Dhammapada , v. 204). Christ taught, Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matt 6:26). In spite of good teachings, both religious groups struggle in the tension to possess enough of wealth to live well while remaining free from the temptation to be completely preoccupied by the desire for more. Far too few have dared to dialogue on this complex, and for many, highly personal topic.
SEANET (South, South-east and North Asia Network) proudly presents Complexities of Money and Missions in Asia to address this glaring gap in missiological thinking. Each chapter included here represents years of personal struggle with this issue from both Western and non-Western reflective practitioners. G. P. V. Somaratna opens the volume with a helpful historical perspective held by Buddhists towards use of Christian missionary funds in his native Sri Lanka. Senior missionary statesmen Alex Smith writes from many years of personal service in Thailand. A new contributor, Andrew Thomas, lives out the complexities of money and mission daily in his adopted new home of Cambodia. Two scholarly contributors share both personal and academic insights: Jonathan Bonk, a well-known writer on this topic, and Mary Lederleitner with a wide range of experience with mission and money in many countries of Asia. Paul De Neui opens up the dialogue with confession and an appeal to reconsider the patron-client relationship in a new light. Finally David Lim challenges the reader to recognize that God s movement in the world progresses often in spite of material means. Each chapter includes much for reflection and application for mission in Asia and elsewhere in the world.
All of these chapters were first presented as papers at the 2011 SEANET conference held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. SEANET serves as a networking forum where groups and individuals can meet to reflect, celebrate, and strategize together in partnership with what God has initiated around the world. Over 140 delegates representing sixteen countries participated in the forum, and their helpful comments were incorporated by each of these authors in these edited chapters.
Publication of these helpful articles would not be possible without the contributions of many dedicated individuals. Thanks must go first of all to my diligent assistant Melissa Millis for many hours of reading, reviewing, corresponding, and correcting details. SEANET is especially grateful to William Carey Library for their ongoing commitment to expand missiological understanding through the publication of these volumes. Special recognition goes to general manager Jeff Minard, senior editor Kelley K. Wolfe, copyeditor, Brad Koenig, and graphic designer Hugh Pindur. Thanks to the local printers who made delivery of this volume possible in non-Western countries. Much gratitude to those who hand carry these volumes to libraries, schools, and groups who are beyond the reach of electronic mailing capacities.
May the prayer of the writer of Proverbs 30 be our own as we seek to reflect God s purposes in service in the world.
Paul H. De Neui
August 2011
Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, Who is the LORD?
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
Proverbs 30:7-9
CONTRIBUTORS
Jonathan J. Bonk is from Canada. He was raised in Ethiopia by missionary parents and served there with his wife in famine relief from 1974 to 1976. He is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the University of Aberdeen. For twenty years he served as professor of global Christian studies at Providence College and Theological Seminary in Canada. A Mennonite minister, he has served as president of both the American Society of Missiology and the Association of Professors of Mission and is currently president of the International Association for Mission Studies. Currently he serves as the executive director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut, and editor of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research . He is the author of numerous articles and reviews, and has published five books and edited several others. He serves as regular visiting professor of missions and evangelism at Yale Divinity School and at the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary in Seoul.
Paul H. De Neui is from the United States. He and his wife served in a number of roles as missionaries in Thailand from 1987 to 2005. During these years they were involved in a variety of business ventures, promoting community development and church planting primarily in the northeast, Lao-speaking region known as Isaan. De Neui is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary and an ordained minister with the Evangelical Covenant Church. He has edited or coedited the last five SEANET volumes and serves on the SEANET steering committee as organizer of the annual missiological forum. In addition he has published numerous articles on contextualization issues within Asia. Based in Chicago, Illinois, he serves as professor of intercultural st