Hirling Missionaries, America You Can Keep Them
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief
cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am
come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the
shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and
leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and
scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an
hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd,
and know my sheep, and am known of mine." John 10:9-14.
"The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth
not for the sheep." John 10:13.
Some could say, "Pastor Reaves, you don't know anything
about missionaries." My reply, I was saved July of 1974 and
called shortly there after. Entered Bible College one month
later. Spent three years in missions classes. Graduated the
missions course in 1977. Started deputation in late 1977. Two and
half years later, after being in scores of missions conferences,
in hundreds of churches, and meeting hundreds of missionaries,
was finally able to get to the mission field of Canada in 1980.
Went from Texas, my home state, to the Arctic, 100 miles above
the Arctic circle. Worked with a people who did not want me
there, and by God's grace established an Independent Baptist
Church. Then after spending three years on the mighty Hudson Bay
working with the people there, the Lord lead me to Brandon,
Manitoba in 1988. Praise the Lord, he has established a great
work here. A church with a heart for missions.
In April 1994, I resigned as a missionary, after 15 years of
being a missionary in Canada, to take the pastorate here in
Brandon. Yes, I think I know something about missions and
missionaries.
After a recent trip to a northern town here in Manitoba of which
I was asked to come and give some counsel, where supposedly an
Independent Baptist missionary had been for 12 years. As a result
of this trip I felt lead to preach this message, "Hireling
Mission-aries, America, You Can Keep Them."
Canada has had its share of hireling missionaries, they come in
as missionaries but they end up doing nothing more than robbing
the people, destroying the testimony of our Lord and His church.
Might I give you a few examples of hirelings in Canada. In one
case in Winnipeg, Manitoba, an
American missionary comes in, starts a church, looks good so far,
but ends up fleeing with much money.
Now he is or was pastoring a church in Houston, Texas. What kind
of church did he build? It's not there anymore, it folded shortly
thereafter, and the building now houses a Sikh temple. Another
case, an American missionary goes to the far north in Canada,
spends some time in different communities but out of 10 years,
does good to spend 2 years on the field. Most of his time was
spent going back and forth to the states raising money for such
things as a radio station for the north. By the way, that was an
impossibility according to the C.R.T.C. rules at that time. But
he did raise tens of thousands of dollars. No radio station,
where's the money? Airplanes, snowmobiles, 5th wheels, and fancy
trucks but no churches. Sorry, a few buildings, of which men from
the states came and built, and mostly paid for. One has already
been sold. I could give you more examples of these so-called
missionaries, but I think I have said enough, anymore and I just
might get upset.
America, with missionaries like this no wonder Canada is still a
mission field and by the way, America is rapidly becoming one.
As a former missionary and now a Canadian pastor, who has a
burden for his country and its people, I have had it, enough is
enough. Let it be known that this ministry, The Baptist Pillar,
will expose your hireling missionaries. Send us missionaries with
a burden for Canada but keep your hirelings, we don't want them.
It is better to have nothing as to have a hireling who destroys
the chance of ever having a church in a certain town. Nothing at
all is better than a hireling. Let's look to the Word of God and
answer some questions concerning Hirelings.
First of all, What is a Hireling?
Strong's definition for hireling is, "a wage-worker (good or
bad), hired servant, hireling." A wage-worker, simply they
work for money, their concern is income. Barnes in his notes
gives an excellent definition for hireling. "An hireling. A
man employed to take care of the sheep, to whom wages is paid. As
he does not own the sheep, and guards them merely for pay, rather
than risk his life, he would leave the flock to the ravages of
wild beasts. The word translated hireling is often employed in a
good sense. But here it denotes one who is unfaithful to his
trust; and especially those ministers who preach only for
support, and who are unwilling to encounter danger, or to
practice any self-denial, for the welfare of the church of God.
They are those who have no boldness in the cause of their Master,
but who, rather than lose their reputation, or ease, or place,
would see the church corrupted, and wasted by its spiritual foes.
Whose own the sheep are not.
Who does not own the sheep.
Because he is an hireling. Because he regards only his wages. He
feels no special interest in the flock."
Their motive, purpose, is money, which proves they are not
shepherds. In Ephesians 4:11 in the Greek, the word used for
pastors is "poimen" and is the exact word used in our
text for shepherd. "But he that is an hireling, and not the
shepherd..." John 10:12. It's the same word, pastor,
shepherd, and in reality the hireling is an imitation shepherd.
He is in it for the money. The qualifications of a shepherd,
pastor, bishop, elder, same office, just different functions of
that office, is found in I Timothy 3: 1-7, "This is a true
saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a
good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality,
apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy
lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth
well his own house, having his children in subjection with all
gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how
shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest
being lifted up with pride he fall into the
condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of
them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare
of the devil." Notice verse 3, "Not given to wine, no
striker, not greedy of filthy lucre..." A hireling's
motivation is gain, his wage.
In Titus 1:5-11, we see the shepherd and the hireling, "For
this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou
shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain
elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful
children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be
blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry,
not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a
lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy,
temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught,
that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to
convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain
talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose
mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things
which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake." Verse 11
says, "teaching things which they ought not, for filthy
(shameful) lucre's (gain) sake." They teach for filthy
lucre, that's their motive. Notice it says teach not preach. Most
hirelings can't preach themselves out of a wet paper sack. That's
another message. When I was in Bible College I was taught the one
thing you must consider before accepting a pastorate is salary.
Salary? What happen to making sure it's God's will before you
accept. That's the most important thing.
Forget the money, if God wants you there He will supply your
needs. Before coming to the far north I checked to see what
B.B.F.I. recommended, concerning support, and they said $3,000 a
month minimum.
Well, as being an independent, we didn't go by their guide lines.
When the Lord told us to stop deputation, we stopped. We only had
about $1,400 a month coming in. But guess what? We didn't starve,
we were even able to buy a house for $6,000. My it's amazing what
can happen when one can trust God for his needs.
Things have really changed since our Lord sent the disciples out
by two's in Mark 6:7-13, they were to take nothing for their
journey, no scrip, no bread, no money, etc... and now where's the
sacrifice? I have been in conferences where missionaries have
displayed their little books of needs: washers, dryers,
microwaves, furniture, and now computers, automobiles, etc. They
stand up in missions conferences and say we need these things
before we can go to the field. Who says? They take all these
things to the mission field, live like Americans, way above the
standards of the people. Result, the people see no sacrifice, no
self-denial, in other words, no Christ-likeness. God help us,
give us that pioneering spirit of missions back again. Give us
those who are more concerned about reaching the lost than their
own comforts. Instead what we have today are those supposedly
missionaries wrapped up in everything but the mission work. As
was the case in a northern town here in Manitoba. When asked for
help from some of the remaining people there, while visiting I
discovered that after twelve years of a missionary there, they
had no building. The
missionary that was there was drawing mission support from the
States, his wife was working as a full-time nurse, (In Canada
landed immigrants can work,) and he too was working off and on as
a nurse. He was president of the Manitoba Foster Family
Association, worked much with that association, and was also
involved in fostering, of which you would get around $600 a month
per child, tax free. And if that was not enough, he was also
being paid $500.00 a month by the church he was trying to
establish. Needless to say, when that missionary left Canada, he
didn't leave a well-grounded, established church. What he left
was a mess and a trail of destruction. America, keep your
hirelings, we don't want them. We want missionaries with burdens
to reach Canadians with the gospel of Jesus Christ, not rob us
blind then leave the country.
The sad thing is he is now doing it to another mission field.
Missionaries are supposed to start churches then turn them over
to others and go and start other churches.
But now we have missionaries pastoring churches on mission
fields. That's why after 6 years in Brandon, our church had grown
large enough to support a pastor, but the Lord had not raised up
a pastor to take the church. So I resigned as a missionary and
took the pastorate so mission money could go else where. But what
is happening today is we have missionaries staying in the same
place for 10 or 15 years, no new works, they have around 100 in
attendance, and they are pastoring not being a missionary at all.
Many of them drawing missions support and support from the church
they are pastoring. And we wonder why the world is not being
reached with the gospel. Give us missionaries America, keep your
hirelings.
Now that we have answered, what is an hireling, he's a
wage-worker, his motivation is money — "how much will
you give me..." Is not that what one of our Lord's disciples
said in Matthew 26:14-15? "Then one of the twelve, called
Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them,
What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they
covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver." How much
will you give me?
Secondly, let's answer the question, "How is it that
we get Hirelings?
Missionaries, like pastors are supposed to have a calling, a
specific calling. A burden for
the lost world is great, but that's not a calling. A desire to
preach and teach is wonderful but that's not a calling. A desire
to follow in your daddy's footsteps is fine but that's not a
calling. While on deputation I heard some missionaries in their
zeal make the statement, "Why do you need a call when you
have a verse," referring to Matthew 28:18-20. That sounds
good, but it's not true. Those that do go must have a calling.
Someone who is called needs a burden for the lost, a desire to
teach and preach but a calling is of utmost importance. Moses
knew the time and place when God called him. The backside of the
desert, as he came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb and the
Lord called him from the mist of the burning bush that didn't
burn. Exodus, chapter 3. He had a specific calling to a specific
place, Egypt. Paul, the Apostle, the same, on the road to
Damascus, Acts 9. It takes a calling to be a shepherd , pastor,
missionary, mine was the end of July 1974 in my home in Texas.
After almost two weeks of the Lord dealing with me, I bowed my
head as I lay across my bed reading the Word of God. "And
when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and
followed him." Luke 5:11. The Spirit said "you
too," and I prayed, "Lord if you want me you got
me." Six months later he showed me the place where he wanted
me, the far north.
But many pastors and churches have such a desire to have young
men to go out of their churches as pastors and missionaries, they
call them. It's kind of like Samuel's sons in I Samuel 8:1-3,
"And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his
sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel;
and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after
lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment." Notice
verse 1, it says "...he (Samuel) made his sons judges over
Israel." God didn't call them for that office. They were
daddy called, like so many today. They have no calling. They are
pastor, daddy, momma called. Results? "And his sons walked
not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes,
and perverted judgment," verse 3. Result of daddy, momma,
pastor called? Hirelings, turn aside after filthy lucre. I read a
book not to long ago titled, "Please Preacher, Please
Quit," and it stated that the author believes a large
percentage of pastors that stand behind pulpits are not God
called. And I believe it also, because of what I see. Pastors,
missionaries, running off from their families, abandoning
families for other women, dishonest in their dealings, robbing
the churches, and stealing from missions. Some of these I don't
only doubt their calling,
I doubt their salvation. I have known pastors who were our
supporting pastors, who were doing such things as, writing
mission checks to themselves, but the stubs were written out as
if sent to the missionaries, thus robbing 1,000's from missions.
Others who take from the mission account and buy buses and pay
bills, they too are robbing. So how is it that we get hirelings
behind pulpits? Many churches make it easy; they lay hands on
them, ordain them, and send them out before they see God's
calling on them. The churches in Antioch saw God's calling on
Paul and Barnabas because they ministered to the Lord in that
church, Acts, chapter 13. We must ask ourselves today, "How
is it that we are getting so many pastors and missionaries going
bad? Thieves, adulterers, and even homosexuals." How? We
must be doing something wrong. We need to go back and
re-evaluate. We are to quick to train and send out the un-called.
Many churches send
their young people off to Bible Colleges and there they are
trained how to be a pastor or missionary. From these Bible
Colleges come most of our hirelings. When God calls a man, he
might need some direction and training from his local church and
he does. But he doesn't need to learn how to preach. The Lord
calls preachers. If you can't preach you're not called. When God
calls a man He gives him wisdom and the ability to counsel. You
can't teach someone how to counsel. That's the problem today
there is too much counseling being done out of books, like
Dobson, etc. We don't need Christian Psychology, we need God
called men who can get a hold of the Counselor for counsel. Just
like Samuel many preachers are guilty of calling preachers
instead of allowing God to call. O.K. so we have answered,
"What is an hireling, a wage-worker, his motivation is
money, what will you give me?" We have attempted to answer
the question, "How is it that we get hirelings?" Mostly
through Bible Colleges or by pastor, daddy, and momma called.
Churches are also responsible for hirelings on the mission field.
They have sent them out and they should keep an eye on what they
have sent out.
Last of all, let's answer the question, "How Can You
Spot a Hireling?
In our text John 10:13, it says, "...He is an hireling, and
careth not for the sheep." A hireling does not care for the
sheep. Our Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, Hebrews 13:20, "Now
the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant." He cares for the sheep, and even as
Psalm 23 speaks of, He leads then to green pastures and beside
still waters. In other words, He feeds the sheep. In John
21:15-17, Jesus asked Peter three times, "Simon, son of
Jonas's, Lovest thou me..." and once the Lord says.
"Feed my lambs..." and twice, "Feed my
sheep..." In other words Jesus was saying if you loved me
you would feed my sheep. An hireling doesn't care for the sheep
and it shows in his feeding. He doesn't study, he doesn't seek
God for messages, he gets his messages out of a book, like he
does his counseling. Pastors are warned in Acts 20:28, "Take
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to
feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own
blood." We are to feed the church of God but a hireling
doesn't care for the sheep and it shows in the feeding. The sheep
will be ignorant pertaining to the things of God. They won't be
well grounded. Concerning the matter with hirelings in the north,
when I was in the town in northern Manitoba just recently and
talked with the folks there, I found out that after 12 years with
a supposedly Independent Baptist missionary there, they were very
ignorant concerning separation, Baptist doctrine, and even
concerning why we use the K.J.V. of the Bible. So one of the main
things that shows up in a hireling is, he is not concerned about
feeding the sheep. He doesn't study, he's lazy, he isn't learning
or feeding himself much less the sheep. I Peter 5:2 says,
"Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for
filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." A true pastor has a
heart for his sheep. He understands they are not perfect, they
have problems and true pastors, missionaries, stand up for their
sheep when the wolf comes. He defends the sheep because he loves
them, but a hireling flees. You can spot a hireling because he is
always fleeing. He is gone more than he is at his church. As was
the case in the northern town in Manitoba I just recently
visited. The former missionary there was so heavily involved in
Manitoba Foster Family Association as
being president of that organization, he was gone a lot, involved
in everything but the Lord' work. No wonder after 12 years, the
church never had more than 23 in attendance and less than 10
adults. Ever wonder why pastors are jumping from one place to
another? It's hard to find a pastor that has been at one church
for more than 2 or 3 years. The first time the wolf comes, a
little problem in the church, the pastor flees.
And of course, the hireling missionaries have to change fields on
a regular basis. And how does the
hireling missionary leave his work after he flees? In the case of
the town in northern Manitoba, he leaves it with a novice, barely
out of Bible College, 23 or so years old, doesn't even know what
he believes. The missionary leads the church to ordain this
novice, after all when he flees he must leave it with someone,
that way he can say he established a church in Canada and left it
with a national pastor. But let me fill you in on what has
happened since. This novice pastor that was missionary called
lasted only 18 months. He read a book about hypercalvinism and he
became one. The church people had to ask him to leave. The church
stripped him of his ordination. So what does he do? He begins
attending an Alliance Church. Now, 18 months later there are only
7 to 10 people attending the church. They are without a pastor.
The hireling fleeth because he doesn't care about the sheep. God
help us. America, keep your Hirelings, send us God called
missionaries with a burden for Canadians.
Of course, another way you can spot a hireling is by their pocket
book. I can understand a missionary in Europe needing 4 or 5
thousand dollars a month because they lose half to exchange. But
I have problems with missionaries in North and South America
needing 4 or 5 thousand dollars a month. In country's where the
staples are cheap, such as food and housing. You can spot an
hireling missionary by his news letters.
He is always talking about money and needing more. Always
wanting, never satisfied. While on furlough in 1985, I had a
pastor ask, "Bro. Reaves, do you need anymore support?"
My reply was, "No, Pastor, we are o.k." He went on to
tell me that I was the first missionary that had ever told him
that. There is something wrong today my friends, when money is
the driving force in missions. God give us missionaries and
pastors with a willingness to sacrifice instead of a desire for
filthy lucre. Maybe why Canada has not been reached with the
gospel is because this scenario, as in this northern town in
Manitoba, has been re-enacted many times from coast to coast in
Canada. May I end with this, we as Independent Baptist like to
claim that Christ is the head and we the Church are His body and
so we are. No big organization over us, we are independent. But
we the church are responsible for those who are members and go
out from our churches. The church is responsible for their
missionaries. Check them out. America, keep your Hirelings but
give us your God called missionaries.
Ask for the Guide Book, the Bible from heaven;
For our salvation its pages were given;
If truth you are seeking the way,
Ask for the Guide Book, believe, and obey.
Heed not the voices that bid you remain,
Heed not the false guides who seek only gain;
Ask for the Guide Book, — its teachings are true, —
Heeding it daily will carry you through.
Thousands are traveling in death's downward way;
Few walk the path that is narrow to-day:
One ends in darkness, and one ends in light, —
One is the wrong way, and one is the right.
By Pastor John Reaves