Churches of Christ -- Sermons; Sermons, American -- 20th century
No business concern would send a man to some field to represent it and
work for it without furnishing him with the support necessary for
success in his work. I am convinced that it would be wiser and better in
the long run to have a few men in the field fully supported than to have
several that are but half supported, and therefore handicapped and
unable to accomplish what should be accomplished.
It is also my conviction that the church which furnishes the money is
also obligated to supervise the use of that money. I do not suggest that
we dictate to churches at other places, for there is no one who believes
more firmly in congregational autonomy than do I. Every congregation
must be entirely independent. But, surely, if you have a man preaching
for you in the state of North Carolina, or some other place, it is your
duty to know what he is doing, what he is accomplishing, and whether it
would be well for him to continue there or to move to some other
community.
I know of one man who was supposed to be preaching in a missionary
field, not supported by Chapel Avenue incidentally, concerning whom I
have received a report that the only thing he did was to teach a Bible
class on Wednesday night. Over a period of several months he received a
good income from churches throughout the country who were gullible
enough to answer a call without knowing the condition of the field and
the kind of work that was being done by the one who made the call; while
being paid to preach he was working at a secular job, receiving a living
wage therefor, and putting the money he received from the churches in
the bank in his own name. This illustrates what I mean by saying that it
is necessary that we keep a line on those who are being supported. Those
who are worthy will welcome investigation and those who are not worthy
certainly ought to be investigated.
I believe that I am, at least to some extent, qualified to speak here
for I have worked at both ends of the line. As you know, I spent five
years at Richmond, Virginia, in the missionary field, receiving support
from you and others back home. I’ve also worked at this end of the line,
and I think I know a little about how such work ought to be done. Surely
regular and complete reports ought to be received, and careful
supervision should be exercised by those who furnish the money. It is my
conviction that, when God places resources in the hands of an individual
or a congregation, they are responsible for seeing that those resources
are properly used.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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