Jerry M. Ireland - For the Love of God: Principles and Practice of Compassion in Missions

Jerry M. Ireland

P erhaps more than ever before

Some missions agencies have also witnessed an astonishingly sharp increase in new missionary candidates and short-term mission teams interested primarily or solely in social justicewhich has become something of a catch-all term for all things related to compassion. Others have noticed an increase in giving toward relief and development type ministries, while funds going to evangelism and discipleship have declined. Yet, when compassionate missions stand apart from evangelistic efforts and apart from the work of the local church, the uniquely redemptive role of the church is either diminished or lost altogether. Therefore, missionaries must find ways to engage in compassion in ways that are more directly linked to the evangelistic calling of the church. The biblical paradigm is one in which word and deed are not two separate tracks of ministry, but rather are inherently connected and interwoven.

This book is designed to help bridge the gap that sometimes exists between compassion and evangelism. To accomplish this, we not only address the theoretical and biblical principles of compassion in what we hope is a sound and somewhat expansive manner (part one), but also provide some practical guidelines intended to help missionaries navigate the difficult terrain of compassionate missions (part two).

All of the contributors to this volume have at least one advanced degree related to the topic they address. This formal training is buttressed by years of hands-on experience. Together they have well over two hundred years of missions involvement. They have worked in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. As they have traveled the globe and taught on compassion in missions and worked with local believers to build healthy churches that exhibit a robust understanding of Gods own concern for the poor and marginalized, they have found themselves searching in vain for a single volume that addresses both the theoretical and practical side of compassionate missions. This book was born out of that search.

Another reason for this text is that dominant issues in compassionate missions change frequently, and not always for good reasons. Not long ago, HIV/AIDS and orphans were a primary concern. Nearly every evangelical church in the United States had heard of Heidi and Rolland Baker and their ministry to street children in Mozambique. In early 2015 , as this book was being written, the Ebola crisis in West Africa and its once non-stop coverage by Western news outlets had begun to fade. At the same time, human trafficking had been a dominant focus of evangelical compassionate missions for at least a decade.

Another reality that presses the need for this text centers on the fact that evangelical missionaries have not always done a good job of integrating compassionate work with the national and local churches in the country where they serve. Because of this, we are forced to ask some searching questions. Are our compassionate efforts in missions driven by real needs and by biblical mandates, or by whatever captivates our attention? Do we engage in compassionate ministries out of a need to feel good about ourselves or out of a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches? Does the manner in which we conduct compassionate missions focus on the needs of those we are helping or on their assets? Do we involve those we seek to help in the process, or do we merely presume to know what they need and forge ahead? What is the difference between compassionate work done by missionaries and that done by any number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and parachurch organizations? Should there be a difference? These are questions every missionary working in compassionate ministry should take the time to consider and work through, and this volume has been conceived with these very questions in mind. We have made a conscious attempt to not be driven by the ever-changing and fickle winds of a consumer culture, but by realities that we know, from first-hand experience, directly impact the task of reaching the lost for Christ.

Overview

Part one of this text focuses on guiding and foundational principles. In chapter , Jerry Ireland explores the theological foundations for compassion through a study of the biblical concept of the kingdom of God, wherein compassion constitutes a fundamental aspect of what it means to be the people of God. He then looks at how this biblical understanding should inform the praxis of missionaries and the flourishing of indigenous local churches. Following this, Alan Johnson further develops the idea of how compassion can be done according to indigenous principles. Following Ralph Winter, he distinguishes between the marks of the church and the purpose of the missions band, noting important differences in purpose and function. In chapter , JoAnn Butrin and Chad Thornhill articulate social and biblical definitions of poverty. They adopt the widely held view that poverty should be defined by more than economic factors and set the definition within a scriptural framework. Rounding out part one of the text and this section on guiding principles, Suzanne Hurst introduces the essence of a development approach to compassion. Development focuses on the dignity of every person and seeks to avoid the creation of dependency. It also focuses on assets rather than on needs.