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Sacrificial Generosity: the need for humble wisdom and discernment

person Carl Chambers
5 min

In the past couple of years, I’ve been on a steep learning curve which has challenged me personally, it began by my concerns for what others were doing. The context was the change in diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba. With a colleague who has long experience in Cuba, we began to fear that there might be an ‘invasion’ of Americans and US money from well-meaning Christians. Experience around the world suggests that the damage of such an influx could be far more than any potential benefit from greater resources.

I’ve come to see how even the relatively smaller amounts that I’ve been involved in sending can have a damaging effect, and produce the opposite of the intended support and strengthening of the local church that we have wanted to achieve.

For instance, a number of people have given money through us to support Christian workers in Cuba. It is, however, becoming increasingly evident that when we give money to support ministers of the gospel, it can have a damaging effect on those we give it to and those around them. Foreign money can so often:

  • Create a ‘them and us’ as those who are supported have a better lifestyle than those who are not.
  • Undermine the responsibility of the local church to support their pastor adequately and at a level commensurate with others in the church.
  • Reduce the accountability of the local pastor to their church, because money generally brings with it power and influence and control. We know a number of pastors who have told their church leaderships that they are getting some support, but they won’t say how much because of the position that would leave them in.
  • Provide a disincentive to those who are able to have bi-vocational ministry, which is very common in Cuba (and many developing countries) as well as being sustainable and scaleable.
  • Make ministry so desirable that some will want to become pastors because of the pecuniary benefits. Many Cuban denominations confirm this is happening. It’s not just the money: money from outside opens the possibility of further material provision, from newer model mobile phones to trips to the US (and the expectation that there will be yet more ‘freebies’).
  • Risk opening the door to other ministries who might be more inscrutable in their intentions. Most denominations in Cuba have been affected by foreign ministries which have come in and exerted excessive influence on their pastors. It is painful to hear of people who were described as faithful pastors abandoning their denominations and changing their doctrines because (we are told) of the influence of foreign money.

All the above is equally true for supporting ministry projects as much as direct support for pastors.

We’ve found that the Cuban church is wholly competent and qualified to grow without foreign financial resources (praise God!) and too often those that have come in create a dependency of organization or infrastructure that is unhelpful.

Of course there are occasions where external funding is both helpful and necessary – the funding provided by King Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem is a classic example. But there are also occasions where the well-meaning generosity of outsiders can hinder the creative ingenuity and the need to give of the local community.

For instance, one church identified a need to build a church building for a community of faith which had grown locally, and wanted to continue to meet together as a whole. They applied to foreign friends to fund the project, but nothing came. So they did it ‘Cuban style’ (“a lo cubano”). They put down a concrete floor, and built a roof over their heads. That’s it. They joke they have ‘natural’ air-conditioning, because there are no walls! They readily admit that had foreign money come in, the project would have looked much more impressive and been much more costly. Such ‘gold plating’ is again a common theme of projects which are funded from outside (this is true in development work as much as church mission: it has been estimated that $1 trillion has been wasted on aid in Africa since the end of the Second World War).

So before I rush to raise funds for a need I see in Cuba or elsewhere I need to ask myself:

  • How do I see my role? Is it as partner who walks alongside my brother, or as ‘lord’ who comes as ‘patron’ to distribute finances because I have more?
  • Will the issue be solved better or simply quicker if I raise the funds?
  • How much have I understood the financial need being presented? How would it be done differently if there were no funding?
  • Who will feel the ownership of the project, the local Christian community or those from outside who provide the funding?
  • Will the faith of the local Christian community grow or be hindered if I provide the funds from outside the context – and how will I determine this honestly?
  • Are there other ways I can help that don’t involve me providing the funding?
  • Given that it is more blessed to give than to receive, am I comfortable being the one who gets the most blessing from this if I bring the funding?
  • Will the publicity about this need be in English or the indigenous language?

Even if I answer all these questions as best I can I might still get it wrong, perhaps providing external help when I shouldn’t or not doing so when I should.

The message? Sacrificial generosity needs wisdom and discernment, with humility, too.