Financial Crisis — George Verwer

Personal Burden and Request for Prayer

This is a special personal sharing tape that is going to the leaders of OM. The members of various boards of directors in different countries some ex-OMers. Some very long-standing friends and people who have acted as my advisors and counselors over the years.

Other long-term OMers of course Will get this tape when it comes to the matter of practical changes and ideas and thoughts about operation mobilization. I Tend to think this will probably End up as one of the most important tapes I have ever made.

I'm alone here in my little office in West Wickham I've been praying about What I'm going to share on these tape on this tape. It may become two tapes For many many years and Especially even more in the last couple of years.

What I state here in this tape does not represent necessarily the official policy of operation mobilization in a sense it's a tape of my own personal struggles and the purpose and sending you this tape is to ask you for your prayers first of all and For your counsel as this subject again.

Touch on a number of subjects but This subject especially of OMS financial policy and practice Will certainly be a main item for discussion at the coming field leaders meetings. I Would really beg of you to give your full concentration if you can of course, I'd be thrilled to have you listening to this tape in your car or Anywhere rather than you're not listening at all.

But perhaps after going through it once without taking notes you could go through it again and take notes because the Whole area that I'm going to be discussing touches many many different things. And the weight of the argument that God seems to be putting upon my heart.

Concerning certain changes, especially in the way we go about things in OM Are not based on one or two Problems or thoughts or ideas or even scriptures, but are based on many many factors and It's going to take time to go over these factors.

I Have many notes that I made prayed through and I would appreciate your giving time to absorbing them. How I wish that Somehow as it was 28 years ago When Just three of us were headed to Mexico. That we all in OM full-time could sit here in this office and we could discuss these things face to face.

Many of you who receive this tape are personal friends. I think of you as a friend as a brother or sister in Christ. You're not necessarily in OM full-time. But God has used you in this work. More than perhaps I have been able to express.

I think though I've learned something over the years. I still have more to learn about how to really express appreciation and I want to express my appreciation to you as a board member as an OM or as a leader as a prayer partner as a friend.

For standing with us over the years and some of you have stood with this work. Some of you back in New Jersey From my conversion 30 years ago even before that You were praying Mrs. Clap will be listening to this tape.

What can we say about her? Others of course here in Europe had been standing With the work and with me personally for 20 21 23 years. It was just 25 years ago this summer that my wife and I were packing To go to Spain.

We've just been in Mexico for six months. We'd seen the hand of God Move in a mighty way. We had been in the Mexican border mainly speaking on the subject of love fruit of the Holy Spirit. And as those teams went into Mexico No, I had to Fly back and then hitchhike back to Chicago try to get hosie Burks out of prison.

But while those teams were moving forward in Mexico We were preparing To go to Spain people like Phil Marshall such a leader now in the field of Islam Was in Veracruz Mexico that summer? On a very very Difficult team led by hosie who had just come out of prison.

So in a sense, this is another historical milestone in OMS History. I want to just have a word of prayer right now Lord Just guide us as we share through the means of this little cassette tape. One of the deepest burdens that is on my heart Lord I don't have this all neatly organized.

Because It's a whole series of questions and struggles and I pray you'll give wisdom to the people who listen to this and who write to me and Who send their advice? That Lord if there's an area where I'm going astray that you would Help me to refocus and to sharpen my focus and to get back on the right path.

We thank you God for all that you have done. We thank you Lord and we come even in making this tape with a spirit of Thanksgiving. We have no complaint with you. Oh living God. We love you. We want to be able to say as Job though you even slay us.

We will love you. We worship you. We know your hand is as much upon OM today as it has ever been perhaps more. We thank you for the whole new army of leaders in Training many of whom want to commit their whole life to this work.

We thank you for tens of thousands of prayer partners. We thank you that every day there are people who come to know you. We thank you that every year there's 12 to 20 million precious people through the work in India and the ships in Europe and the communist world and the Muslim thrust and Endless other effort who are receiving your holy word.

For those that somehow are being drawn to yourself out of that great multitude Who are hearing the gospel? We thank you Lord for What you're doing in the lives of XO Emory's for many different fellowships and groups and organizations that have been born out of this particular work.

Lord, how can we even begin? To express Our Deep love for you our deep gratitude many many ways that you have answered prayer guide us now as we deal as we think together realistically about this difficult situation of OMS finance and What our response should be to the challenge of the hour?

We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. I just come from a three-day area leaders conference. Six of us representing the different areas of the world. Gathered together for three days praying wrestling with all kinds of issues.

OM's Financial Crisis and Staged Responses

Preparing the agenda for the field leaders meetings and the general council where final decisions are made. Or where we come into final unity. About what we sense the Lord is leading us into For the future.

For the last years we have been in awesome and difficult financial problems. We developed a couple of years ago a stage system so that we know when things were going from bad to worse. Stage one is when things are bad.

Stage two as they get worse. Stage three is sort of a full alert. And we have different things in terms of cutback and sacrifice and prayer that we do during those different stages. Which we were in often a year ago.

This led to drastic cutback especially in connection with the ship ministry. It led to many struggles it led to many hurts. As Satan Tested us God allowed us to be tested. I want to just share from the beginning That the past couple of years though.

They've been years of tremendous testing and difficulty. I've been years of great victory. We have found our roots. By God's grace more than ever we know where we're going and we know to some degree how we're going to get there.

We've refocused on our targets. I've done a series of five tapes based on the leadership manual in which we Deal more clearly with some of the goals that set out in the leadership manual and define some of these.

And I want to thank those of you who have given feedback the various letters and memos and tapes That have gone around the world. And to my feeble books which also somehow have become widely read and Bring in many many thousands of letters over a period of course of years we now have Maybe two hundred thousand dollars in overdue bills and three hundred thousand speaking roughly of other bills.

We know that August Is often a bad month and July and the expense is connected with July in terms of travel airfares Equipment to move the teams out. All kinds of things mean that we're humanly speaking speaking once again headed into a very dark cloud.

This in turn creates many pressures as There's a strong segment of the work feel that a large part of the answer in OM is Is is is cut back and more careful control of spending and and less spent and All kinds of memos are released and all kinds of exhortations are given all well intentioned.

But with it different people respond in different ways. Some people just want to leave they can't handle. Don't want to handle the pressure anymore. Each person. Where all human beings has the ability to see?

Where other people may be failing where other people may be spending too much. There's also a strong group that feel that. The greater answer lies in seeing increase of income think everyone to varying degrees.

Even though it doesn't always come out and what we say and what we practice. But in varying degrees believe that we need to increase our income. We saw this years ago in terms of people's personal support at that time There was even questions as to whether we should have a personal support system.

Maybe there should be just a general kind of support system and after much prayer and struggling We have agreed that OM is a fellowship in which each person is looking to God in Relationship with his own church and prayer partners or his own personal support and praise God for the unity we have on that.

Which so much helps us know what direction we should take when we come into some of the other problem areas. One of the reasons however for this tape Is a simple fact that we have an enormous range of people within OM perhaps 20

Perhaps as high as 40 Who are having enormous difficulty in connection with personal support? One of the most heart-rending things that I've never been able to fully understand. Are the many many people that have had to leave OM over the years because?

Support. We've tended to try to give answers saying well. This was the way God was leading them, and we know he can lead through the lack of finance. We have certainly overemphasized that at times. But in surveying the whole missionary situation at large around the world I had seen that also.

Many other people some who have been on OM far more who have never been on OM. Never got to the mission field even though they felt a call they wanted to go and in some cases definitely clearly had the skills.

They never got there because of the support problem. Some mission societies require a high degree of pretty heavy deputation. Some young people cannot handle that. Many missionaries are not great communicators.

That makes sometimes deputation work going out and raising money almost a nightmare. And they have dropped along the way or taken up other ministries because as they've traveled in their own country they've discovered other ministries and Often these ministries especially in the home countries Go with a salary.

It's interesting that when it comes to ministries in the home countries pastorate assistant pastorate working at a Bible Institute a seminary many many other similar ministries. With these ministries are our salaries and of course since the money factor is a large factor in life.

Many many who are praying about going overseas and a high percentage of overseas work is Non-salary, it's faith though. I know the word faith is different meaning in different places, but It represents a situation where they have to look to God and look to his people.

For somehow giving it's really voluntary volunteer work. There are great missions, of course that do have a salary Program and it's important sometimes To keep that in mind and one of my greatest concerns and what I'm sharing here is not is not firstly OM.

Somehow by God's grace OM will continue to go on. Even if we continue to be confused and to perhaps be in extreme In this area of money and communicating about money but my bigger concern is About the other people.

The 37 ,000 who have had some kind of training, you know in OM. Who have received that challenge about our particular kind of faith, especially when it comes to money. But who found shortly after leaving OM that at least for them it didn't work.

And many of these people who might be on the mission field today are Not there. I Feel this is where I want your correction but I feel partly because of Extreme practice even more than policy policy in some areas hasn't been clarified.

So that's led to Extreme practice. Misunderstanding it's led to inconsistency. We'll get into that Later so keep in mind that what we're dealing with at this time is something very very important as we think of the unreached people's groups as we think of the Muslim world as We think of almost every major mission society looking for more recruits and many of them looking to OM for those recruits.

Our credibility with mission societies. It's quite different than it was 20 years ago. Actually our whole policy in connection with finance and not speaking about money not mentioning money in our letters was linked.

Very important to understand this in the historic perspective was linked with our desire To see whether we really were something that God wanted as we were just being born. To esteem other mission agencies is better than ourself and not have channeled into OM because people knew us or because our message was Challenging or because of emotion that they might not channel to us money That was already designated to other missionary organizations, I Think it's important therefore to understand That perhaps a system that was from God 25 years ago and even 20 years ago When we were much smaller and when we were faced with a particular set of problems is not necessarily the system Or the method of working that we should maintain today as a fellowship of 1600 people With permanent headquarters and bases in 40 nations with another three or four hundred children and another 1 ,500 to 2 ,000 short-term recruits coming in the summers and other times of the year a letter from Steve Hart a year or two ago made a big influence big impact in my thinking as He felt that perhaps the system that the Lord had led us to use I might say Steve Hart has been really the key man in finance and Accounting For more than 20 years.

He joined us as we were preparing for the 1963 campaign and Has been the chief accountant and leader of the whole financial thing all these years. I'm sure Steve's original beliefs before he came on OM were not the same as He submitted to after he came and he has been wonderful in terms of his love his patience his submission in this area.

But a year or two ago. He submitted a memo to us Asking us to think about making certain changes and Some of these will be mentioned at this time. He wrote another memo a few weeks ago as he is strongly convinced that OM's major problem is a need to increase income and to put more teeth into our support system and has recommended even that we pray and others have done this about some kind of System of pledging young people before they come have pledged support.

The amazing thing is Though technically we're still in opposition to this in fact If it wasn't for pledge support For many of the young people and including myself and churches that without particularly asking have pledged to my wife.

And I I just don't know where OM would be today. So could it be that the system or the way we have operated the system The past 25 to 28 years is not necessarily the way we should continue in the future.

Biblical Questions About OM's Fundraising Policy

A Great question we will always ask in all of this is Whether it's biblical. We've already faced many many years ago That we didn't have a whole series of Bible verses that clearly taught our position and for many years now We have even been defending for example other groups that take offerings.

Other groups that raise money we work together with groups that raise money. And we have tried to restate our own policy by saying we do not overtly Go into fundraising. The fact is we still basically Do not even mention Finance to any degree in our letters and more important than that we don't allow of course Some young people have broken the policy.

We do not allow Young people on OM to mention finance in their prayer letters of course is something so many cannot comprehend When they first come. So we have a real problem, and I've been wrestling with them reading and praying.

Let me just Share a little more about the present policy and how it works out. The policy of course above all else is to be totally dependent upon God. Taking those words of Hudson Taylor. I guess giving our own interpretation God's work done in God's way will never lack God's Supply.

I have to be honest and saying That there are many of us that would not necessarily anymore agree with that statement. Because we understand more the nature of the spiritual warfare we understand more that it's not all victories.

There are situations in which God has wanted to supply, but his people have not responded. There has been sin there has been selfishness there has been materialism. Therefore the money has not come therefore the work has been hindered.

It is impossible to say That the work of God is not constantly hindered in many places for the lack of money. Just as we know that in some cases the work of God is hindered because there is too much money that has also been emphasized by some men of God as I already shared and wanting to esteem other groups and I'm wanting to be totally dependent on God in those early days and wanting to see everything come in answer to prayer.

We moved into what of course many people felt and have felt all these years including many men of God is an extreme position. Some people don't even realize it. We don't take offerings in OM meetings if it's a church meeting and the church pastor takes the initiative of course we allow that.

People have been amazed by this some have even been offended because they have wanted to give. Finally as a compromise on Dulas where and Lagos where people Didn't know how to give. There was never any offerings taken in the meetings.

Finally some little box or boxes appeared. Where if people somehow wanted to give they could find out or they might see this box. They could put some money now that in some ways already represents A shift in policy greater than some of the things that I am hoping and praying We might be able to make in other areas.

We developed a policy even though a lot of these things were verbal. That said people including new recruits could not mention money in their prayer letter could not mention money To their churches for a while could not even tell their churches what the support was.

I wonder. Some mission leaders, and I know even members of our own board of directors Felt it was ridiculous endless letters have come to us saying that people could not understand this policy. We made a compromise and agreed in past general councils to finally produce a leaflet explaining finance.

For quite a few years there's always been some words of explanation in some literature. That's given to the recruits. There's always a letter that goes to the recruits. At least they know what they're to do they know the prayer target.

That they're supposed to be praying for so that they can go. Finally a year or so ago. We agreed that this leaflet Telling about the financial policy could be enclosed to home churches. And that brings a lot of questions because many young people are only on OM because of individual prayer partners or because of a Of gifts coming in different ways sometimes their own their own money of course.

So in some cases there were no home churches. We also in the last couple of years have committed ourselves to work with churches in a balanced way in regard To people's support. This is where we have ended up Doing things that at times seem seemingly were inconsistent with the policy.

One hand we weren't letting the young people put in their letters what their financial goals were. Asking people to pray with them about those prayer goals but on the other hand we would call up pastors in some cases and ask them whether they were going to support a Particular young person and that automatically led to all kinds of information going out so we have a lot of problems where today because of Inconsistency it's not planned inconsistency, but it just happens.

Because the average person may be following the letter of the law the letter of the policy does so to speak but many other people Do not. Or their leaders they have more freedom they can call past. Please keep in mind that OM has become a very large complex organization.

And that we also give a fair amount of freedom to each individual nation. It's impossible to understand operation mobilization. Unless you understand the fine balance between the national autonomy and the international fellowship many of our countries are national Units under national boards of directors.

They have a lot of freedom. They have the freedom to interpret policy. Again, and again different national entities within OM. As far as some of us who are an overall leadership are concerned Have taken too much freedom in bending the policy and Giving out information in one country in their prayer letters.

That in other countries where they're sticking closer to the policy. It's not being done. You can imagine the difficult. Also, many countries are very different. British people come for a summer. They can return back home when they have more information.

Talk to their churches talk to their prayer partners certain information is found out by investigation or leak. However young people who come from Australia Singapore other parts of the world. These people are coming for one or two years.

They have to get everything organized. Before they leave they have to have in a sense some kind of promise that may not be called a pledge, but they have that. Some way have seen some financial breakthrough.

They're quite large airfares involved. They have to. When they're interviewed with more or less gives one impression to the interviewer that the money is going to come. Therefore in certain parts of the world There is more very clear communication with the churches and once it's communicated for one set of owners.

Then the young people who come the next year especially from the same church, they know the rules of the game and. So communication goes out information including information about finance goes out. Considered a breach of OM's financial policy.

So I think you can understand the complexity of this Policy it may sound good on paper. It may sound good from the pulpit, especially when there's good emotional Preacher talking about believing God trusting God.

Using the favorite old stories from George Muller from Hudson Taylor. Even though most people haven't done enough research into all that to understand exactly what was happening both in the Charn Inland Mission in those days and in the work of George Muller and a few other similar works by investigation and research.

Into groups that have a financial policy somewhat similar somewhat similar to OM is. That in almost no case are they as rigid as we are and In most cases there are ways in which information even about important financial needs are our share with at least a certain part of the constituency as.

Some people call the people who support a particular work prayer partners givers donors. Share partners, whatever you want to call them. So in some ways it's left OM in such an in somewhat of an isolated position.

There are a few who seem to be close to us. There are a few who may seem to be more more strict or more rigid. But the vast percentage of missionary agencies today Do not agree and certainly do not practice the kind of thing that we practice In OM admittedly in that practice there are there there's there are failures there are areas of inconsistency.

And we'll touch on some of that in a few minutes. I think some of you of course already know most of you know what we've been trying to Practice what we've been trying to do and I think up to now. So there has been failure before God we have With all of our hearts tried to put into practice what we felt was God's will in the past years we have been less Dogmatic saying, you know, this is what scripters say or this is the way we see it in the scriptures.

We gave that up almost many of us at least 15 years ago. I spoke on revolution of love and balance On the ship Lagos around 1971 Indonesia that's now published in my book revolution of love and balance.

I Spoke about the difference between OM particular practices and biblical policies and through that message tried to prepare young people For going into other mission agencies where they would have to raise their own support.

Where they would have to share openly about finance and I noticed a high percentage of all the whammers. Who join other missions and who go out to the mission field do learn to include in their prayer letters?

Definite information about their support what they need Etc. So I am very happy for that stand we took 15 or so years ago. Now I am able to communicate that print and from the pulpit when I have question-answer sessions but the average person finds it difficult at times to discern between the OM practice and the biblical principle and then if This particular OM practice is not a biblical principle.

Why in the world are we continuing it? And leaders within OM a fair increase number have been asking this and they've been asking it of me more and more. Regularly, and I know the defenses that I have given.

Even though those defenses have led to certain compromise and the changes that have taken place slowly over the years. A Hard thing in all of this of course is when you receive a letter From someone who is very very very strong.

What they feel is the way of faith some people believe. Be very few in this camp that that OM is is one of the last groups really holding on to God's way. Maybe some of us at times would like to believe this.

But we are unable to believe it because we esteem so many other groups and because a stronger message of OM Concerning love the whole body of Christ working together is a more important more importance than certain aspects of our financial policy.

I Really hope somehow you're able to follow me. I know sometimes. I'm a man of too much Explanation but different parts of this explanation different parts of this struggle and burden Will be meaningful and important to different people.

Personal Support, Recruitment, and Missionary Attrition

What are some of the other problems? We've had to faced with this particular policy? I've already touched on the fact that recruits do not understand this. Oh M was small in the beginning a lot of face-to-face person-to-person fellowship contact.

I might say that right back to the earliest days at Moody Bible Institute. The work goes back before that but especially when this policy came in because it didn't exist. In the very earliest days in fact shortly after I was converted.

I wanted to give out Gospels in the high school. I Went to dear Henry Reid Ike who's now in heaven. And I asked if he could somehow supply the money for the Gospels for the high school. How mightily God bless that the Cementing of this particular policy slowly took place years later and especially as certain influences came into the work by a few men of God.

There never were very many a few many got men of God who felt very very strongly. Of course they commended For our stand and they supported a lamp for our stand. Even some people who gave finance it seemed at times.

They only gave finance because we were a group that operated this way. They even gave the idea that if we didn't operate this way, then we couldn't expect You know God to at least supply finance through them that was never.

Sort of the total factor in our decision in this regard. It was a number of factors some of which I've already touched on but even back at Moody there were those praying and fasting who did not see the break and who didn't go to Mexico.

The same was true in the early days in Europe and a lot of people Have been hurt by this system. One of the things that's been on my conscience for years is the thought that perhaps with our rigid Concept about finance we are doing in the area of money.

What extreme healers are doing in the area of healing they say some of them? No doctor that that church in Indiana where 60 have died because no doctors. No medicine. And and maybe in the area of money we've gone into that extreme.

You know no no mention of finance no telling people the real facts. Here we are with all these different needs. Bibles are needed. Vehicle spare parts are needed. Many of emers praying about leaving for lack of support.

Houses need painting you know I could list a hundred needs many of them that we face right now. But but we don't we don't in a sense tell the doctor or we say well the doctor is is Jesus. We're only going to tell Jesus.

And I've seen people hurt for extreme teaching on healing and OM is an arch enemy of extreme teaching on Healing and yet we know that some people and some churches have been hurt through OMS teaching about finance and.

Balancing Prayer, Faith, and Financial Information

This goes way way back into history. Now another strong conviction I have that you must understand is that within every spiritual movement every church and every man of God there will be some error. There will be some deception.

We're all growing. We're all learning in past years. You've heard me emphasize the human factor and. So I've had to search my own heart where has OM erred. What are our blind spots what are still remaining extreme unbiblical extremes for us.

Extremism is is error. It's it's selfish. It's neglecting certain basic biblical principles. Spiritual balance is the blending of different strong biblical principles. The book has recently been published very extreme book.

Another one of the many factors leading me to share at this time in which of course the word balance has been viciously attacked. OM has been a movement that has emphasized love has emphasized fellowship of all of God's people.

We've steered a middle balanced course in many areas. Touchy difficult areas like the gift spirit like mode of baptism. Many things in regard to church government and I am convinced. This is God's way forth and yet in this particular area We seem to steer our own course, which in some cases separates us.

Or causes us to be misunderstood by many of God's very beautiful people. Impossible for us to accept that all these people are wrong and we are we are right. Now we've had the teaching that the local churches should be doing the teaching about money they should be doing fundraising.

Quote of that verse money being set aside on the first day of the week. Peter Maiden has written a whole book about giving. Initially I was even opposed to a book about giving because I thought people are gonna think we're writing this book in order to him.

That that that we need money. I have done some of the most ridiculous things. In overreacting to the fear that people were thinking that we were hinting. Or that people were thinking that well, we say prayer, but we mean money.

Searching my own heart and I know my heart is deceitful. Most of the time when I have said prayer I have meant prayer. But I could not say that in some cases money was not also in my thinking. And of course, I've written a whole leaflet how to release Money through prayer though initially that was only for private circulation for oh and people.

And we have you know in some people's minds have become at times almost paranoid. About it a new recruit would mention something in his prayer letter about money. We've circled it send it back to him and say this is not allowed.

All in the name of faith all in the name of wanting to obey God and. And unfortunately, we've discovered that pride can come into this a subtle form of pride has. Almost gripped my own heart when I thought that I've almost never asked a man a person or a church for money in the last 27 28 years.

There may be a few exceptions. Understand that if people take the initiative and ask us if there are any projects or ask us if there's a need for money. We can explain our situation to them. That's. Other organizations other churches taking the initiative.

That is a very important sort of loophole. That we agreed to many years ago because otherwise we would get into things even more ridiculous. So I know and we're always praying that people will ask. Whether there are any we're always praying when people ask whether they're eating today in India, we're always praying will will people ask.

So then we can we can submit our burden or our project. Even in terms of corporations, we've had people say go to the corporation ask for money. We've never gone to corporation Asking for money except in a few cases where they have taken the initiative and have come to us.

We have also built up ongoing relationships with groups. Who in fact are into fundraising? But who need movements like OM and want to work with movements like OM in order to see their own ministry fulfilled.

For example people who are publishing literature for free distribution. I can name a number of tremendous groups. They want to work with us. So it actually ends up. They are almost raising money on our behalf.

We always say well, they're raising money for their ministry, but we're helping them in their ministry. But it gets very Complicated especially when they mention our ship and mention our needs in their prayer letters.

So what we are not allowed to do in our own letters. Especially the nun the young new recruit battling for his small about amount of support other groups are doing. Sort of honor on our behalf. And of course in the minds of some even leaders within OM.

It's it's inconsistent. It's ridiculous. I have tried to explain this and I have tried to defend it. I can see the expressions on their faces and I'm sure there's been a lot of patient people around OM.

But not agreed with me on some of these things that I have said but who love me. Esteem me and perhaps quietly pray. I know some are Lord in your time change George Verwer in this area. Now if you are one of those persons, this is the time for you to not only pray Quietly, but to write me very clearly what you really feel what you really believe so that I Can wrestle this through.

So if I speak on this subject at field leaders of General Council I will be able to not only have what I feel and think myself. But I will be able to have what other leaders board members prayer partners what you also feel and think in this very very important matter.

I Touched on the fact that new recruits so often don't understand this. I think of that scripture was it the Pharisees who put burdens on people they could not bear and Some of us feel that sometimes this is what happened in our financial policy.

We know I think most of us know we would have many more recruits and it includes quality recruits. If they were able to clearly communicate their financial situation that sometimes the ones who make it to us are ones that didn't understand it and did communicate and Ones that don't make it are ones that sometimes did not communicate.