Chapter 12 - The Challenge of Parachurch

The Dorian Principle, A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity by Conley Owens Chapter 12,

The Challenge of Parachurch Help versus Hurt Nothing makes for an exciting hero like a vigilante

Fed up with the inefficiencies or corruptions of governing authorities, a zealous hero goes outside the purview of the law to take matters of justice into his own hands

He captures and punishes criminals unencumbered by red tape and crooked bureaucrats

Fueled by righteous indignation, he restores order in the world It's no wonder fictional characters like Robin Hood or Batman garner mass appeal

In reality, however, vigilante justice is often problematic Rarely guided by a careful weighing of the matter

Psychological instability or mob mentality typically provokes such activity Even those who do operate with some sense of rationality frequently commit grave errors by abandoning the safeguards of civil government

There is a reason the phrase kangaroo court does not ring with positive connotations In a sense, the church has her own set of vigilantes

When Jesus established God's heavenly kingdom on earth He decided to operate through a franchise of local institutions.

He called the church Assemblies constituted with particular offices and functions

Many have found this structure inefficient, opting to establish their own institutions to accomplish religious ends

Widely known as parachurch organizations Many of these ministries may be accompanied by the excitement of fictional vigilantes

But they often encounter problems similar to the ones faced by real -world vigilantes I don't write all this to challenge the legitimacy of parachurch ministries

But to call attention to the fact that they introduce their own complications, especially when it comes to ministry fundraising

Since they cannot rely on the fundraising practice of the church They tend to create new avenues of support that potentially violate the

Dorian principle In this chapter I would like to offer a quick overview of where exactly the issues lie and how a healthy focus on the local church may circumvent them church identity versus parachurch identity

The church is that body of believers Christ instituted to represent his kingdom on earth

The universal church is composed of all Christians everywhere while the local church refers to a particular society of Christians characterized by their regular gathering for worship

Etymologically para indicates coming alongside of something Parachurch ministry is simply any ministry regulated outside of the local church whose primary goal is to aid the church whether local or universal

Thus while the label is typically used for organizations like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship or Compassion International Broadly it applies even to individuals operating outside the structure of the local church with the intent to serve the church

Church structure versus parachurch structure The essential distinction between the local church and the parachurch lies in structure

Understanding this distinction is the key to recognizing the potential pitfalls of parachurch entities

Especially as related to the Dorian principle Let's look at this structure according to the

Bible's breakdown of a church the congregation elders and deacons The congregation is the membership of a church

While some churches do not practice formal membership There is generally an understanding of who is permitted to participate in the

Lord's Supper on a regular basis The congregation ultimately forms the primary source of accountability in the church

Even if the church does not practice congregational voting the people vote with their feet

Joining and supporting those ministries which operate as they see fit Parachurch ministries rarely have similarly defined membership or even similarly defined goals

The elders of a church watch over a congregation managing the teaching of the church and leading it in discerning doctrinal issues

Ideally a body of elders would consider church fundraising practices in light of the Word of God with especially discerning eyes

Parachurch organizations typically guarantee no such oversight The deacons of a church have authority over the physical resources of the church to meet the physical needs of the church

The Bible requires they conform to the standards set in 1st Timothy 3 8 through 13

Outside the church those who take on similar roles may be vetted spiritually, but are rarely assessed by the same rubric

In all these secular positions replace sacred ones The structure that protects the ethical collection of resources in the church rarely exists in other organizations nor can it ever completely in adding such church structures a

Parachurch organization would cease to exist as such and would simply become a church church fundraising versus parachurch fundraising

The Bible establishes a model of fundraising for the church the voluntary contributions of the congregation

Presuming they are offered in an effort to co -labor with the church. They perfectly accord with the

Dorian principle We see these contributions first in Acts where the people pool their resources

Acts 2 44 to 345 to be distributed by the

Apostles functioning as elders Acts 4 34 to 335 and Later a body known as the seven functioning as deacons

Acts 6 1 through 3 Elsewhere Paul commands the church in Corinth to contribute weekly on the first day of every week 1st

Corinthians 16 1 through 2 in Contrast the Bible prescribes no source of income for parachurch organizations

Consequentially the exigencies of ministry drive them toward innovative fundraising practices

Frequently creating opportunities to transgress the Dorian principle While not exclusive to parachurch institutions

There is a reason the sale of ministry occurs more frequently outside the church than inside the church book sales cover author

Commission conference tickets cover speaker fees tuition payments cover tenured salaries and proprietary licenses cover musician paychecks

Yet by and large the voluntary contributions of the congregation suffice for church employed ministers alternative approaches

Parachurch entities typically form for the sake of expediency the alternatives deemed too inefficient or ineffective however in Light of the

Dorian principle. We should consider several alternatives to the practices of parachurch ministries

Moving from more to less aggressive measures The following three strategies provide potential replacements for standard parachurch practices that abandon the

Dorian principle Conducting ministry under the auspices of the local church

Many parachurch endeavors could directly translate to church endeavors Such ministry would be subject to the authority structure of the church and receive its funding directly from the church

The governance of a parachurch entity that seems too large or has too many stakeholders to fit within a single church

Could potentially be subdivided or franchised to be run by multiple churches Not only would this work for many sophisticated organizations, but it would work especially well for ministries of individuals for pastors and other staff

Churches could recognize their special labor in their regular salary for others Nothing inhibits the church from creating a position for them

For example, some churches have a scholar -in -residence position that could be appropriately compensated

Christian authors who produce valuable teaching ought to be supported so that they have the liberty to write without fearing the financial ramifications of abandoning their day job however, a number of Christian authors write and publish books independent of the authority structure and financing of their church

In the end, they frequently support their work by selling their finished product, some even priding themselves for doing so To draw examples from the spectrum of evangelicalism

Rick Warren and Joel Osteen have both opted out of taking any income from their churches instead living primarily on book royalties

However, this swaps co -labor with reciprocity reversing the Dorian principle

They proudly reject co -labor and happily accept reciprocity The church that wishes to co -labor with a minister should be permitted to do so and none should be asked to purchase ministry through book sales or otherwise

In contrast, some have commendably offered their works for free Rejecting royalties from hardcopy sales, living only on the support provided by their churches

John Piper is an example of one such minister fundraising through church partnerships

Those parachurch organizations which receive their funding largely from individuals could limit their solicitations to establish churches

By receiving money from churches that wish to partner with them They would rely only on the voluntary contribution of congregations rather than the sale of religious instruction

Prefunding. Rather than attempting to recoup costs after the fact via ticket and literature sales

Parachurch organizations could pre -fund their ministry. For example Religious conference organizers could work with churches and individuals to collect money to support the teachers

Rather than doing so through ticket sales Similarly, rather than relying on book sales

Christian publishing houses could work with churches and individuals to establish a joint fund from which authors would be paid

Instead of one entity shouldering all the risk and potentially turning a financial profit Many believers were partnered together in sharing the risk, praying together for a spiritual harvest

Crowdfunding utilities such as Kickstarter or Patreon offer a viable alternative to the work first receive later model of the publishing industry

With these tools one may receive funds from partners on a regular basis or raise money for a ministry endeavor prior to commencing

These approaches would give Christian ministers a way to raise support from those genuinely interested in supporting the ministry

Without appealing directly to those who are the main targets of the ministry However, a word of caution

Crowdfunding utilities often encourage offering perks at different donation levels. In the context of ministry

Such seeming bribery does not accord with the Dorian principle seminaries

As a case study a particular category of parachurch organizations applies here

Seminaries typically operate outside of the direct oversight of the local church, but have significant impact on the church at large

While financial aid programs exist, rarely does one complete a seminary degree apart from incurring substantial costs as an example

Reformed Theological Seminary presently charges tuition at typical rates At $585 per semester hour for a 106 hour

Master of Divinity degree that totals to $62 ,010 Not counting the additional host of fees that go beyond raw tuition

Given that seminary education constitutes religious instruction in nearly the purest sense

The Dorian principle demands that seminaries not accept money from their students in exchange however

Rather than destroying these institutions Several options compatible with the

Dorian principle offer ways to preserve them rather than raising money through tuition

Seminaries could be funded by individuals and churches looking to support the work of the school For example such an institution does not have to directly salary their instructors

But could instead provide a framework for churches to support them These issues of staff largely exhaust our concerns since the

Dorian principle does not necessarily regulate student room and board for brick -and -mortar seminaries

Compliance with the biblical ethic may largely reside in delineating facility costs from staff costs

Ensuring the latter is funded through responsibly sourced donations However, the advent of online seminaries offers a new way forward with little concern for physical resources

In fact, several of these seminaries have adopted a similar model with virtually all faculty receiving no compensation directly from the seminary

For example, the Logg College and Seminary and Forge Theological Seminary both provide free educations through removing the financial burden of a physical campus

Choosing educational material that minimizes costs and relying on the support of volunteer faculty

These individuals often receive support for their work from their own churches who understand their academic efforts to be an aspect of their ministry

By structuring themselves this way These institutions relegate spiritual formation and other time -intensive aspects of seminary life to the local church while this trend represents a radical shift from the traditional model it promotes the primacy of the local church and Consequentially Compliance with the

Dorian principle. As more seminaries follow this model, we may hope that a free education will become the norm in pastoral training

Conferences As an additional case study Gospel themed conferences likewise collect large sums of money from attendees

Not uncommonly Organizers sell tickets at a cost approximating $100 a day for example

Together for the Gospels T4G20 was a three -day exclusive live stream event with registration costing $299 at Thousands in attendance this represents over 1 million dollars in ticket sales

If the purpose of such events is truly to promote the gospel, then the Dorian principle must shape its commerce

Naturally Large events require substantial sums of money to reserve venues, print conference materials, etc

Thus it is not surprising that fees are often associated with conference attendance however, according to our ethic one should not charge for the actual ministry of the gospel

A key issue here is that in conference tickets material costs are rarely delineated from the cost of the instruction itself

When they are it becomes apparent whether or not the organizers intend to sell religious instruction to the audience

For example in order to avoid the suggestion that the teaching itself is being sold a ticket could be labeled a meal and facilities pass

Regardless our ethic also regulates all that directly attends to the proclamation of the word

So gospel centric event organizers should consider finding willing co -laborers rather than charging for attendance

Conclusion Because parachurch ministry lacks the structure of the church

It opens itself to additional opportunities to violate the Dorian principle Most notably it lacks the regular contributions of the saints and so frequently resorts to creative fundraising measures

These measures often cross the line set by the Dorian principle Recognizing the tacit dangers of parachurch ministry

We should respond proactively finding ways to generate support through co -labor rather than reciprocity

Where possible we should even consider restructuring parachurch activities under the auspices of the church