Presence of Legitimacy
|
Steve Schirmer, President of Silk Road Catalyst, coined the phrase Presence of Legitimacy back in October 2013. The information below was written by Steve to explain what is behind this term and why it is important to us and Global Missions.
|
I met an American missionary serving in SE Asia who told me about the English school he started in a Muslim community. It was a legally registered business and he charged a fee for his English classes. In the mind of most Kingdom-minded people, his English school will be considered a legitimate business enabling him to serve and live in that restricted access country. Over the two years he ran this business, he was able to befriend several Muslim elders and share the Gospel on many occasions.
After these two years, the Muslim elders approached and challenged him because they discovered some things about him and his business that just did not add up. His profits were minimal at best (basically, he broke even which was his aim) and his lifestyle was significantly higher than his profits would allow for. The elders asked him where he received his money. They asked him how he could live such a large lifestyle with so little profits. He could not tell them nor did he. They knew he was withholding information from them. In that one conversation, he lost his witness, credibility and legitimacy with this local community. But, thankfully his story did not end in a total disaster.
This missionary spent the next two years praying and developing a new business. This new business proved a better fit for the community he was serving and his the skills sets of he and his wife. He began employing locals, selling products globally, and on track to make a profit as a legitimate business owner that could cover his lifestyle. The biggest result? His Gospel witness was restored, as well as, his legitimacy and credibility.
While his English school could have been legitimate, he did not treat it as a legitimate business but simply as a front to gain an entry visa. When he spoke about all this, he said, "Muslims may be unreached but they are not stupid". This was the most powerful statement he made all day. They are not stupid and neither are the 2+ billion people who have never heard the Gospel one time. Yet, many missionaries create fronts that are not legitimate. Businesses are created where profit is not desired. Tent-makers find jobs yet live lifestyles much larger than their job enables them to. Some missionaries live as the forever tourists when no one, but the rich, can live like that.
As followers of Jesus, we must live differently. As missionaries that seek to advance the Gospel, we must serve differently. God has given us skill sets to use in legitimate avenues for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom. Not every missionary will be a Business As Missions (BAM) practitioner. Not every missionary will be a Tent-maker. That is perfectly okay. Having a Presence of Legitimacy is not based on the BAM movements or being a Tent-making. A Presence of Legitimacy includes these areas (and they play a significant role in have a Presence of Legitimacy) but they are not the only avenues that provide a Presence of Legitimacy.
HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE SILK ROAD?
The Silk Road provides difficulties we do not normally endure in places like America, South Korea and other developed countries. As a result, we must be creative in our approach and strategic in our engagement, while legitimate in our presence.
BEING CREATIVE is important because most Silk Road countries do not allow traditional missionaries to be in country.
BEING STRATEGIC in our engagement is important because the aim of every disciple of Jesus, second to worshipping God, should be to make other disciples on an ongoing basis. Disciples multiply disciples who multiply disciples, etc., etc., etc.
BEING LEGITIMATE in our Presence is important because if we are lying about why we are in a particular community (or country), why should that community listen to the Gospel message? I’m not advocating that we lay all our cards on the table and tell them we are missionaries. But, I am saying we should be logical in how we present ourselves to a foreign community. We should leverage the skills God has given us through avenues that fit the community we seek to serve in a way where the local people view us as legitimate in their eyes.
I would say in most cases, serving as a Tent-maker who earns a paycheck from an employer or operating a profitable business are two primary avenues that provide true legitimacy. There are other avenues, but legitimacy is based on the community we seek to serve, not necessarily what merely gets us a visa into the country.
WHY IS A PRESENCE OF LEGITIMACY NEEDED?
Remember that missionary serving in SE Asia I told you about? The one who lost his credibility with locals because his business was just a cover? His story is just one of many that illustrates why this concept of having a Presence of Legitimacy is more than just a passing trend in the world of global missions. It is a real shift in the way missions should be done all along the Silk Road, and it deserves our time and attention to figure out better ways to be present among the Gospel Deprived and reach the locals we are planting ourselves among.
Being able to make disciples and plant churches is the most important task we can do, as the body of Christ. However, if we have no Presence of Legitimacy we eventually or immediately have no witness when we are serving in a cross-cultural environment.
After these two years, the Muslim elders approached and challenged him because they discovered some things about him and his business that just did not add up. His profits were minimal at best (basically, he broke even which was his aim) and his lifestyle was significantly higher than his profits would allow for. The elders asked him where he received his money. They asked him how he could live such a large lifestyle with so little profits. He could not tell them nor did he. They knew he was withholding information from them. In that one conversation, he lost his witness, credibility and legitimacy with this local community. But, thankfully his story did not end in a total disaster.
This missionary spent the next two years praying and developing a new business. This new business proved a better fit for the community he was serving and his the skills sets of he and his wife. He began employing locals, selling products globally, and on track to make a profit as a legitimate business owner that could cover his lifestyle. The biggest result? His Gospel witness was restored, as well as, his legitimacy and credibility.
While his English school could have been legitimate, he did not treat it as a legitimate business but simply as a front to gain an entry visa. When he spoke about all this, he said, "Muslims may be unreached but they are not stupid". This was the most powerful statement he made all day. They are not stupid and neither are the 2+ billion people who have never heard the Gospel one time. Yet, many missionaries create fronts that are not legitimate. Businesses are created where profit is not desired. Tent-makers find jobs yet live lifestyles much larger than their job enables them to. Some missionaries live as the forever tourists when no one, but the rich, can live like that.
As followers of Jesus, we must live differently. As missionaries that seek to advance the Gospel, we must serve differently. God has given us skill sets to use in legitimate avenues for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom. Not every missionary will be a Business As Missions (BAM) practitioner. Not every missionary will be a Tent-maker. That is perfectly okay. Having a Presence of Legitimacy is not based on the BAM movements or being a Tent-making. A Presence of Legitimacy includes these areas (and they play a significant role in have a Presence of Legitimacy) but they are not the only avenues that provide a Presence of Legitimacy.
HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE SILK ROAD?
The Silk Road provides difficulties we do not normally endure in places like America, South Korea and other developed countries. As a result, we must be creative in our approach and strategic in our engagement, while legitimate in our presence.
BEING CREATIVE is important because most Silk Road countries do not allow traditional missionaries to be in country.
BEING STRATEGIC in our engagement is important because the aim of every disciple of Jesus, second to worshipping God, should be to make other disciples on an ongoing basis. Disciples multiply disciples who multiply disciples, etc., etc., etc.
BEING LEGITIMATE in our Presence is important because if we are lying about why we are in a particular community (or country), why should that community listen to the Gospel message? I’m not advocating that we lay all our cards on the table and tell them we are missionaries. But, I am saying we should be logical in how we present ourselves to a foreign community. We should leverage the skills God has given us through avenues that fit the community we seek to serve in a way where the local people view us as legitimate in their eyes.
I would say in most cases, serving as a Tent-maker who earns a paycheck from an employer or operating a profitable business are two primary avenues that provide true legitimacy. There are other avenues, but legitimacy is based on the community we seek to serve, not necessarily what merely gets us a visa into the country.
WHY IS A PRESENCE OF LEGITIMACY NEEDED?
Remember that missionary serving in SE Asia I told you about? The one who lost his credibility with locals because his business was just a cover? His story is just one of many that illustrates why this concept of having a Presence of Legitimacy is more than just a passing trend in the world of global missions. It is a real shift in the way missions should be done all along the Silk Road, and it deserves our time and attention to figure out better ways to be present among the Gospel Deprived and reach the locals we are planting ourselves among.
Being able to make disciples and plant churches is the most important task we can do, as the body of Christ. However, if we have no Presence of Legitimacy we eventually or immediately have no witness when we are serving in a cross-cultural environment.
PARTNER with one of our MISSIONARIES
©
2017, Silk Road Catalyst, All Rights Reserved, Privacy Policy