Richard & Bianca Reeve - Mozambique |
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The way forward for the self-reliant message
by Richard Reeve – 12.8.2008
This is not an academic article. I offer these thoughts simply in response to the reactions I have observed in speaking on the challenge the Churches in Mozambique face, as they try to move from dependency on foreign funding to using local resources in their life and mission.
I have not, yet – as far as I am aware – met anyone, who is concerned for self-reliance, who does not take seriously biblical models of stewardship, for instance in tithing and giving beyond that. I believe most who are concerned for self-reliance have probably given considerable thought to stewardship, and giving to mission in particular, precisely because they want to give, but want to do that constructively. Indeed, if people or church groups do not want to give of their resources, there a simpler ways of going about it, than trying to understand the complexities of dependency dynamics, and self-reliance as an alternative. Instead, such a person or group could simply withhold the resources they have access to, and then say no more about it!
Rather, it seems to me that those speaking about self-reliance do so from one of at least two perspectives. There are those from a modest economic background (often in the southern hemisphere), who want to be economically independent for the selfhood and empowerment it offers, and an opportunity to be ‘stake holders’ in the mission of God in their own localities. After all, everyone is able to contribute to God’s work on earth, and to enjoy the excitement and blessing that go along with that. Giving our all to mission is not something a richer church or people can do for someone else, whatever the economic disparities.
As for those who have ample resources, but none-the-less call for self-reliance, in economically poor churches, my experience is that, often, they are those who began by giving of their wealth, mindful of economic disparities, but came to the realisation that – as much as it may have given them a ‘good feeling’ – the outcomes for the recipients were at least complex, often unhealthy, and sometimes disastrous. Accordingly, the relatively wealthy who now call for self-reliance, are not those who don’t want to give, but are instead the cautious, who will continue to give, but want their giving to bring about outcomes that will be celebrated in heaven.
All that said, my concern here, the point of this small article, is that if we – those calling for self reliance - are not be misinterpreted, as those who are simply trying to avoid giving, or indeed a biblical ‘interdependence’, we may need to offer our insights in the context of some broader issues, of which self-reliance is only a part. To paraphrase, some of those who enjoy relative economic wealth, and are hearing for the first time, the call for economic self-reliance, are inclined to ask – “Wasn’t Jesus concerned for the poor?”; “So what should we do with our money?”; “Are we to keep all our wealth and not give any to our poor Christian brothers and sisters, elsewhere?”; “Are you suggesting we just keep everything for us?”. These are the thoughts behind some of the comments I have received as I have spoken on self-reliance.
I think the broadest subject to which we can contribute, and of which we should be aware as we think on self-reliance, is mission itself. If we are not to be seen as those who are simply saying “…don’t give to mission undertaken in economically poor areas of the world”, we need to be urging caution, but in the context of arguing for what represents healthier patters of giving to mission. That is the big pattern of which we are part – resources in mission.
Within that is the area of stewardship. If we are not saying, simply “…don’t give what you have because it can cause more harm than good” [though the latter part of that sentence is so often the case!] what can we contribute to thinking on stewardship, generally? Unless we offer ‘healthier options’, which have good stewardship and giving at their heart, we may be perceived as simply a message of what not to do. Giving Christians are not usually asking “…what am I getting wrong in my giving?”, but rather “how can I give?”.
A browse through both the writing from African and other Southern hemisphere authors suggests there is plenty on the benefits self-reliance, and appropriate interdependency, for economically challenged church groups. There would seem, also, to be plenty of writing on the dangers of dependency, written to enlighten those who are better off, economically. The challenge, now, it would seem to me, is to set the latter in a broader framework of giving and/for mission, that will not be misunderstood as negative mean spiritedness, but will be better understood as rightly as positive stewardship.