REFORMATION IN FOREIGN MISSIONS
Bob Finley

Xulon Press, 2005, 264 pp.   ISBN 1-59781-158-0www.xulonpress.com

Bob Finley served as a missionary from 1948 to 1953 in China, Korea, Japan,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and India.  Returning to the U.S. he
founded International Students, Inc. to reach international students, and
Christian Aid Mission to send financial assistance to overseas missions
organizations.

The purpose of the book is to reveal "some things amiss in our thinking
about the whole concept of 'foreign missions'.  We must replace our
"antiquated, unscriptural, counter-productive methods..." (9, 213, 227)
Sending missionaries to other cultures is a misguided, counterproductive
church tradition that is not supported by Scripture. (9)

Finley calls for international missions to be done exclusively in two ways:
reaching internationals among us and supporting indigenous missions abroad.
"Our role should be limited to reaching people while they are away from
home, then getting behind them with financial support when they go home to
spread the faith among their own people." (147)

He credits two organizations as doing missions right: Christian Aid Mission
and Partners International.  Most of the experiences he cites are from about
1950.  Chapter 20 gives some advice for how to support indigenous mission
ministries.

We shouldn't send missionaries to other cultures because: . They generally
hinder rather than help the cause of Christ (7) . It is simply a 19th
century church tradition. (9, 47, 161) . It has no basis or precedent in the
New Testament. (9) . The ways we conduct it often deny the most basic
principles of Biblical Christianity. (9) . We often run roughshod over our
fellow believers already there. (10) . We hire away the workers of
indigenous missions and devastate their ministries. (10) . Rich missionaries
bring discredit and suspicion upon poor local believers. (10) . Economic
disparity is a hindrance to the Cause, a stumbling block (11,38) . Rich
western missionaries are thought to be spies for the CIA. (11,39) . The
gospel is identified with aliens who appear weird and this erects artificial
barriers of prejudice against the gospel and hinders its acceptance. (11)
. Missionaries commit cultural offenses. (11) . Colonial-type mission boards
generally assume an attitude of superiority. (11) . The rich foreigner's
presence may breed covetousness and destroy any sense of self-sacrifice.
(12, 163, 166) . It is a misuse of resources to spend $60,000 of God's money
to send an American when a national can serve with the support of $600 or
less annually. (12, 114) . Mission Boards are guilty of carnal, sectarian,
denominational expansionism and free enterprise models of competition. (12,
40, 41, 45, 48, 166). . The motive for 90% of our missionary work is to
enlarge our own sphere of influence, power and control more than to further
the cause of Christ. (116) . The New Testament does not record "that God
ever sent a missionary to where he did not know the major language of the
area or would be looked upon as an invader from another culture." (18, 20,
27, 28, 136) . In Mark 16:15, cosmos means the world around us.  (21) . Paul
did not exhort his disciples to go work where they did not know the
language. (28) . The Gospel is associated with colonialism. (60) . We cannot
survive if we try to live on the level of the people of poorer countries.
(69) . Colonial methods of operation create dependency. (75, 76) . 90% of
donated money goes to overhead. (80) . Foreign missions do less than 10% of
the work. (80, 178) . When we transplant our types of churches into other
cultures they are not likely to take root, grow or spread. (92) . We are
virtually helpless unless we are fluent in the local language. (114) Only
about 1 in 10 Americans can learn a new language well after he is 25 years
old. (170) . "The money we spend on hotels, restaurants, taxicabs,
sight-seeing and 'shopping' after we get there would support several more
local missionaries for a year or two." (115) . African men will not step
forward in leadership as long as the dominant foreigners are there. (134)
. "The continued presence of foreign missionaries tends to bend the local
culture out of shape and inhibits healthy growth of the churches." (139)
. White man's diseases are introduced and take a terrible toll. (146) . It
demonstrates a lack of faith in the power of the gospel and the word of the
Holy Spirit. (146) . The spread of the faith is hindered by its
identification with foreign invaders. (147) . We're squandering our
resources. It's the greatest hindrance to supporting effective workers.  
(167, 190)



The best thing we can do for "mission field" countries is get behind the
indigenous ministries by providing the financial support they need. . Then
they will finish the job. (30) . Nationals are more effective.  100-fold
(59), 10 times (147, 149, 164, 178), many fold (166) . Explosive advances of
faith in China and India occurred because the Christian faith is no longer
associated with colonialism. (60) . Indigenous missionaries can cope with
the environment. (69) . Dependency is not a problem when we give to
indigenous, rather than colonial missions. (75) . 90% of stewardship
teaching in the New Testament deals with believers in more prosperous areas
sharing with fellow saints in areas of poverty. (77) . Indigenous churches
generally have missionary vision and motivation while colonial branch
churches tend not to. (149) . They are not brain washed by rationalistic
Scripture twisters.... (153) . "Growth of indigenous churches in Nepal has
been almost entirely the result of witness from native missionaries and
individual local believers." (158) . Financial support strengthens and
multiplies their effectiveness. (159) . Gifts will accomplish 50 to 100
times more for the Kingdom. (160) . 90% of effective pioneer missionary work
is done by indigenous missionaries. (178)

In 2004 more than 6000 indigenous missions have more than 300,000
missionaries.  (30)

"I am convinced that it would be better for the cause of Christ if foreign
missionaries were withdrawn from all other areas of the world as well, ...."
(57, 59

Assist indigenous mission organizations rather than individual local
churches. (77, 78)

"In all my 60 years of serving our Saviour I have never seen anything more
ridiculous than the way we botched our opportunity to help God's servants in
Russia....  May He forgive us for squandering His resources on the
frightfully expensive process of sending Americans over there, when He had
already prepared tens of thousands of laborers who could do the job ten
times better at one percent of the cost.  We know not what we do." (114)

"Only 10% of missionary contributions are made available to the servants of
our Saviour who do 90% of the work." (178)  99% of the truly fruitful work
is accomplished with one percent of all funds given to advance the Kingdom.
(178)

"What some Christian kids spend on recorded music, videos, computer games
and related hardware is probably equal to the entire foreign missionary
enterprise of their respective churches." (181)

"Shouldn't Christian youth be challenged to pray about someday 'going to the
mission field?'  Definitely not." (183)  Every Christian can advance the
Kingdom now by supporting an indigenous missionary.  (184)

We may have needed foreign missions 100 years ago but not now, because
300,000 indigenous missionaries are serving.  Get a productive career; live
simply; and support them.  Don't drain billions for foreign missions.
(185-86)

"Reach the foreign visitors in our midst and send them back as missionaries
among their own people, as the original apostles did." (197)

"I am reluctant to discuss exceptions regarding things I have said in this
book lest someone use them as a basis for perpetuating colonialism." (214)

"If those who go seldom if ever participate in missionary evangelism among
strangers while at home, how do they expect to suddenly blossom into pioneer
apostles when they go to a foreign country?" (218)

"Those who claim to be going for 'short term mission ministry' would do well
to stay at home." (218)

"Individuals and churches in America should avoid direct involvement with
specific churches or individual workers in poorer countries.  Help should be
sent rather to established indigenous mission agencies which are engaged in
planting new churches in pioneer areas.  Local churches should be self
supporting, not subsidized.  All missionary ministries being helped should
provide financial accountability to make sure that individual workers are
serving under the oversight an discipline of apostles and elders." (230)

Have an agency such as Christian Aid or Partners International evaluate a
ministry before sending funds to it." (231)

Stay away from making decisions for our fellow believers in poorer
countries. (233)

Avoid personal financial involvement with individuals. (233)