Things are changing here in Thailand. There is a new King, the economy is emerging and in keeping with this we are noting there must be changes in our paradigm for how Missionaries work in Thailand and how Preachers in Thailand are trained. Eph. 4:11-13 states:
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Sometimes we forget this is God’s design and we relegate it to antiquities. The truth is our neglect of this passage of scripture has hindered us from understanding what we are to do in ministry. This applies to not only the mission field but to the church in America as well. The example of Jesus and His Apostles has survived over two-thousand years. We must cling to the Ancient order, to the truth of God’s Word. We must resist attempts at changing the clear teaching of Jesus and His Apostles. Yet we must understand we need to change our methods from time to time. We no longer write on Papyrus, we use computers. Some of us use tablets and I-phones to read our scriptures from. In other words we adapt our methods of doing the same things of old. During Paul’s day He would dictate a letter and send the letter with a messenger. As time went on, governments used postal systems, and we adapted to use them. Now we choose between email, and snail mail. The content is the same, but the speed of getting the message there is greatly increased. Let me give you a real world example: I receive the Gospel Advocate…when I eventually receive it it takes 6-8 weeks from the USA to Thailand. When I receive correspondence from the USA first class mail it takes 5-6 weeks to receive it. But when I send an email it is there within minutes.
We recognize our need to change in some respects and yet we remain tenaciously stubborn to change in other ways. The way we train preachers here in Thailand is broken. The way we missionaries do things in Thailand is likewise broken. It worked sort of in years past but we are not keeping up with the times. Some of the elderships’ will like what I will say, some missionaries will not like what I am going to say regarding Mission work here in Thailand and the training of local preachers.
We must be like Jesus, but we must also be 21st century Christians living in but not of the world. We must stay up with the changing times in how we do things to be relevant. The message never changes, but the method should change. Beloved when I write about changing methods I am not advocating false doctrine. Missionaries from the USA, if you want to introduce Mechanical Instruments of Music as a “new method” stay home until you repent, there is enough of Satanic corruption in Thailand. Elders if you believe in women leading in worship and preaching then keep your heresy at home until you repent of your error. Would you agree that all true knowledge comes from God? If so then stay with what God’s Word says, stay true to the Apostles doctrine and their Godly traditions. I want you to think on your own here without me leading too much. Jesus used salt as an illustration, but what does his illustration mean to us today? What is the implication and application of his example? We are to help the World to be saved yet most of us think we are just to flavor it a little. What Jesus said cannot mean something different in 2017 than it did in 29 A.D.
When missionaries come to any foreign land, they come with ideas from their own Country. To be certain they have enthusiasm and bring their excitement into the work, but they bring their culture and their ideas. The Missionaries of old as they came believed the best way to do mission work was to learn Thai, learn to eat all the yummy food and when they preached, many did so with Thai that was almost unintelligible to the Thai. To be certain some missionaries have excelled in their ability to speak Thai, but then they also lived here in Thailand for forty years. When the missionaries came they brought American methods and ideas. Not all of which was bad, but some have had unintended consequences. Many preachers were trained just like our preachers a two to four year program. This is both good and bad. It is good because these men learned the Word of God and were trained to work with the church.
During their training these men were provided with support from American Churches of Christ. On the surface these sounds good. it is economical for the church who supported the aspiring preacher at 25,000 baht per month ($735.00 USD). It was a wonderful blessing, then that preacher went out to start a church, and after two-5 years there was no more support from the American church. In theory the church was supposed to grow to be to be self- supporting, that is often not the reality, especially here in Thailand. The result was that many of the preachers could no longer support their families and left the ministry to pursue jobs to support their families. Here in Phuket the Preacher is paid 15,000 baht per month, a house to live in and a gas allowance. Our congregation still needs 5,000 baht per month from the USA to pay our bills. This means our preacher is paid about $435.00 per month. and our shortfall of contribution is $150.00 per month. Some congregations are self-sufficient most are not.
Perhaps we should look to Paul and his methods of mission work. As I understand it his method, following the teaching of God helped the Gospel to be proclaimed to every creature under heaven within 30 years of the cross, or don’t you believe the Holy Spirit in Colossians 1:23? Some will say this is hyperbole yet does the context bear this to be true? Paul is arguing that the church had exploded into a Worldwide faith. it was not just in Jerusalem, or Judea, it was far greater than local or regional. The Bible does not tell us yet we have tradition saying Thomas died in India. We know the Gospel started in the Middle East, we know it spread to Africa, Eurasia, Europe, Asia, hyperbole? I doubt it. With all of the wealth of the church in the USA, with 13,100 congregations, with 1.3 million Christians in the USA why are we loosing ground? Then we send our failed methods to the world what is wrong with this picture? Maybe it is time to look at God’s word for fresh insight on how to reach the world. Better still, time for reflection on our love for God, His word and the souls of men and women who are lost.
In coming articles we will explore some ideas for a changing paradigm for the church here in Thailand. Come with me on this adventure for a fresh look and possible ideas how to make a dramatic change to build the church in order to reach out to the 67 million Thais who are lost in sin.
Steven Webb, evangelist
(C) January 2017
Unity of the Faith 