Rich Correll
Seventeen years ago, I was partnering with the Ukrainian Evangelical Christian-Baptist Union in church planting and missions. We discovered that Western agencies were financially supporting 400 “missionaries” through the Union. Further examination uncovered that the “missionaries” were not really “missionaries.” They were oblast (regional) superintendents, assistant superintendents, selected pastors and educators, and a cadre of relatives – none who actually planted any churches – a smooth bait-and-switch operation. As a result, I suggested term limits for support, refreshing the list from the bottom up with real church planters. Suggestion denied! The survival of the institution outranked the mission of the church.
A few years later, I met with 40 church-planter trainers with whom I work to review the results for the year. In the midst of our discussions, one trainer said, “You know brothers, if each of us would have planted just one church, we would have more new churches than our training of these 345 students is producing.” He was right! I immediately deconstructed the training work and reorganized, focusing on doers in missionary teams.
These two experiences remind me of a Western visitor to India telling Mother Theresa that he would return home and raise money for her work. Her reply was, “God will take care of the finances. What is needed is for you to be here working with the poor.” The primary lesson that I have learned from my 20-plus years of mission work is to partner only with doers. I do not and I will not work with promoters, speakers, or institutional leaders who are simply wordsmiths or program designers. In the words of D. James Kennedy, “Masses and classes only lead to flashes and ashes.” I am always amazed that we put fine speakers on a high place and rarely recognize the authentic Christ-like workers. I have intentionally chosen to work with the doers who act like Christ – incarnationally in the lives of others in the mess of life. My heroes are the doers of the word! They are the contenders, not the pretenders. God bless you!
With those who depart from the path of being Christ-like workers, I say, “May God bless you as you organize, speak, and promote. May we meet again sometime, but the days are short and words alone fall short.” My exhortation is for each of us to measure the degree to which we are Christ-like in our work and make the changes needed to be as incarnational as possible by His grace.
Rich Correll is director of Church Planters’ Training Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan