The Parachurch: Alongside Not Instead Of

When I was in Bible school I remember one of our instructors making a particular statement. At the time I thought that it was strange and perhaps a bit overly equivocal. Retrospectively, after what is rapidly pushing twenty years in ministry, I have seen the truth of his statement come to life in a full and even expanded way. What he said was, 

"Ministry is a great place for lazy men to hide."

What a terrible sentiment. It is absolutely devastating that this kind of statement must be articulated, but further, that it is a functioning reality. So often parachurch organizations become a shelter for disqualified men to serve, often in leadership, while not meeting the qualifications of eldership. Many times it can be used simply as a money laundering opportunity; by that I mean, with very little oversight, unscrupulous individuals can collect a comfortable income while doing very little to benefit the work of the organization. Generationally there can be a tendency for the development of a welfare mentality and sense of entitlement which flies directly in the face of the actual surrendering spirit of missions work.

As a worker in a parachurch ministry, this is something I have wrestled with deeply for many years, almost since the very beginning. I do believe that God has called us to serve Him in the place where He currently has us. Please do not understand this series of blog posts to somehow call that into question. But as we have served here I have struggled with several things. Our role as parachurch workers in relationship with the local church being the primary thesis of our concerns. We do not want to fall into disobedience in our quest for obedience to God. That may sound like a strange thing to say, but I think too often zeal manifests itself in disobedience, even with the greatest of sincerity. 

 Several years ago, while traveling to a conference together, a dear brother challenged me in my thinking about these things. "Why are you not serving as a pastor" was his initial question. It took me aback. Was there some suggestion that my work was lesser somehow because I was not serving a local church ministry directly? We had a very helpful conversation, but if I am being honest, I was incensed. He and I were recently together and discussed this interaction from a decade ago. Although I found the conversation hard at the time, it did two things; it gave me a lot of important things to consider at length and it galvanized my trust for my friend. It is only someone who is honest and trustworthy who will kindly give you challenges to your thinking and drive you to God's Word for answers.

I have been thinking for some time about organizing my thoughts on parachurch ministry into a series of blog posts, and I guess this Fall is the time for it. Over the next few months I hope to write a number of times and address a few of the following things; what is the church and what is the parachurch, the responsibility of the parachurch to the church, promises to God, co-dependancy — always presenting a beautiful, idyllic picture of ministry to financial supporters, the sufficiency of scripture as it relates to the work of missions, godly leadership that is submitted to the church, the role of ordinances in the parachurch, the authority of the local church, the necessity of sound doctrine and theology, the qualifications of a Christian worker, unity in division and functional obedience. I have not entirely decided how I will organize all of these thoughts, but I hope to examine this topic as thoroughly as I can. 

I believe that parachurch organizations can operate in a fully Biblically obedient way. Many do not, and are enabled and emboldened by apathetic congregations and a faulty understanding of mission work. I am confident that Scripture will bring some clarity and hopefully a good challenge to obedient obedience. (*Disclaimer for the grammar police: Yes, I realize that grammatically a word cannot be it's own adjective — but I am drawing attention here to the reality that we can fall into disobedience even while in pursuit of obedience.)