Ten Commandments for Nationals from the Standpoint of Missionaries

by Charles H. Troutman

I. Thou shalt not have any other objectives than the glory of God in building his Church in your own country.

I. Thou shalt not have any other objectives than the glory of God in building his Church in your own country.

You have your own set of goals that you have developed with the Lord’s help and to which you are committed. Your foreign worker, out of his own background will bring a different set. These may overlap. It is your responsibility to help him bring his vision out of theory into practice and into practical alignment with your national realities. At the same time, you can receive from his God-given vision a deep enrichment of your own. He can help you to evaluate objectively what may be only pet projects or inadequate goals beyond anything you have yet dreamed of. Both of you together cannot fully comprehend all that God has in store for your own country.

II. Thou shalt not consider the foreign missionary a fount of all wisdom’ the chief problem solver, or the one to do work that you prefer to avoid.

Just because he is a specialist in certain areas and more highly trained then the believers you work with, does not mean he can do everything. God has not given him every gift. His foreignness is no guarantee of his great wisdom. Nor must his presence be looked on as a status symbol for yourself or your work. Neither will God’s work in your country be strengthened by asking foreigners to handle your problems. Nor should the foreigner be asked to work in areas where you and your Christian friends do not prefer to go: slums, primitive areas, isolated congregations, unless there is a compelling reason that a foreigner can do a better job. He has not come to you to relieve you of the hard decisions, or to fulfill the Great Commission for you.

III. Thou shalt not classify all foreign workers as typical North Americans Europeans or whatever.

Though they may have many common traits and similar worldviews, the differences among them are as great as among your fellow countrymen. Some are brilliant, some are ordinary; some reserved (you call them cold), others are out-going; some are abrasive while others are gracious. Look on them as fellow believers whom God has gifted in his own way and made available to serve with you in your work. You may resent what appears to you an attitude of superiority. In your culture, he may seem arrogant, but this may only be a mannerism from his own background to hide his sense of uncertainty and insecurity. Both of you need great patience and much wisdom in guiding the foreigner into his transcultural experience.

IV. Thou shalt not expect the foreigner to know his way around your country for some years.

Remember, he is in a strange and perhaps mysterious place while you are at home. Take time to introduce him to the work of God in your country, to your customs, to the way government offices function, to your organizational procedures. This will take time, for his approach to these things will vary from your own. It is your responsibility, not his, to prepare his way where there may be anti -Americanism, anti-foreign, or anti-missionary attitudes. He is not in a position to explain or to defend himself. He is completely vulnerable to cultural criticism. He is your brother and fellow servant of Jesus Christ. At the same time, thou shalt not abrogate your responsibility of leadership for the sake of peace or politeness

V. Thou shalt recognize the foreign missionary’s cultural bias for what it is: his own way of looking at things derived from his own background.

This bias does not mean that he is stupid, slow-witted, or obstinate, but just different. These attitudes will be modified over the years as he grows to understand your culture. His ideal of the Christian family will differ from your own; his work ethic may seem rigid to you; his circle of friends will remain small; he will tend to think more in terms of schedules and projects than of persons. His cultural habits can be either a tremendous asset to you and your work, or something very disruptive. It all depends on how you respond.

VI. Thou shalt always recognize the missionary’s special call to serve God overseas.

God’s call gives him no special authority or advantage over your own decision to serve the Lord, but his call involved a greater physical and psychological up-rooting than yours. In North American churches, response to the missionary call is usually a very solemn moment and a radical turning point in his life. It may have been a very traumatic moment. Treat this gently. It is holy ground. Do not underestimate the strong motivation resulting from this experience. It can be of tremendous value to you and your work if you can recognize it for what it is – God’s call to a sinner to serve him in his own work in your country under your direction.

VII. Thou shalt never, never consider the foreign missionary as free labor.

This will always be a strong temptation for you simply because others are paying the foreigner’s salary and the high expenses of maintaining him overseas. Some of this money is given sacrificially and all of it with the confidence that it will be used to God’s glory. But when you are under heavy financial pressure, a foreign worker who costs you nothing may easily become a convenient way of meeting a budget. To use him simply because he is free labor is not good for the foreigner or for you.

VIII. Thou shalt never assume that thy foreign missionary understands what you say to him, or that you fully understand him.

His language thought processes and means of expressing himself are different from yours. Frequently he will not mean what you think he has said. Think of your own confusion if all your conversations had to be in English. Can you express your thoughts better in English, or your first language? You will know how well you have communicated when you see what he does with your instructions.

IX. Thou shalt not assume that a foreign missionary is a person wealth or influence in his own country.

Very few missionaries come from the wealthy, upper classes, no matter how they may appear to you. He will not have a brother in the President’s Cabinet, nor an uncle in the visa section of the State Department, or a cousin on the Ford Foundation board of directors. He can do very little for you in official, government, or financial circles. Rather, he may be in touch with a few friends and churches who may give generously, but not in terms of big money. If, as you work together, the work requires financing beyond your ability, do not assume that the foreigner knows where to provide for your needs. It is just as difficult for him to raise funds in North America as for you to do so.

X. Hear, 0 national Christian leader, the Great Commandment concerning your foreign worker-. Thou shalt love him as a brother and accept him as an equal partner in the work God has called you to do.

He is more than an employee, a missionary, or a servant. His presence is one of the most valuable things God can do for you. Both of you have much to learn from each other. You are not his servant as in the past. He can only share your burdens as you take him into your heart and mind. In receiving him you have agreed to make him one of your partners. You can strengthen and stimulate each other as together you serve the living God.

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