Table Of Contents:
- Bible-schools in Asia are different! (1)
- Bible-schools in Asia are different! (2)
Introduction:
Many Bible-schools in Asia are disasters because many people think that Bible-schools all over the world should be similar. So many Bible-schools in Asia are almost whole-sale imports from other countries with the same syllabus (sometimes translated into the local language), the same lecturers that come for short-term stints (teaching with interpreters), similar entry requirements, dormitories, funding, etc.
Reasons:
The main reason for this is cultural ignorance. A secondary reason may be ego. A third reason may be financial gain.
Let me deal first with the cultural factors. Most Asian countries are poor. Therefore, the main preoccupation for many Asian is survival – food, shelter and future job prospects. When there is an offer of any one of these three, there are many eager takers. When there is an offer of all of these three for free – as in a Bible-school – it is very hard to resist.
In an affluent country, going to a Bible-school usually means giving up of better prospects. So effort must be made to encourage someone to enter Bible-school. However, in a poor country, going to a Bible-school can mean the exact opposite. Imagine the thoughts that pass through the mind a poor boy who lives in a broken hut, having little to eat and no money for college fees, when he is offered the chance to go to the city, live in a brick dormitory, sleep on a mattress, ease himself in a modern toilet, be assured of three decent though simple meals a day, get an education that may lead to a job with a Christian organization that is funded by foreigners! And often a sponsor can be found for him if he isn’t able to pay for his fees. Do you really think that the average poor youth can resist such an offer?
I have interviewed several Asia presidents and trustees of Bible-schools in poorer Asian countries, who are friends of mine, and asked them what they think are the percentage of their students who are really called to serve in the ministry. Their answers which are shockingly frank are that 50 to 90% are NOT called to serve God. In other words, the majority have other reasons for enrolling in Bible-school.
Unless this harsh reality is grasped by the well-meaning donors who live in affluent countries, this problem will persist. However, some of them will argue that even if the wrong types enroll in Bible-school for the wrong reasons, the end result is good, namely, that they will get a chance to hear the Gospel and be built up in the Christian faith. And even if they do manage to get better paying “secular” jobs, they will be better citizens and church members. While this sounds like a good enough reason for enrolling more students into Bible-schools, we must remember that there is a deadly side-effect that many people do not realize.
The reality is that the majority of Bible-school graduates end up in Christian ministry – the men as pastors and the ladies as Bible-teachers and pastors’ wives. This is because jobs are scarce in poorer Asian countries and these Bible-school graduates are not trained to compete for secular jobs. Their Bible-school degrees are worthless in the market-place. So they really don’t have a chance to get a decent white collar job when they graduate. And most of them expect to have a white collar job since they are now respected graduates who are addressed respectfully as “Pastor.” To some this seems like a win-win situation that provides enough workers for God’s work. After all, isn’t “the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few”?
The truth is that if God did not call a person to serve as a pastor and he becomes a pastor just because he has graduated from a Bible-school, then that person is out of the will of God. And if he is out of God’s will, then how can he expect to have the leadership and empowering of the Holy Spirit when he serves, preaches, teaches, counsels and administers the church? If the pastor is spiritually dead, so will be the church.
This is probably the main reason why so many churches are spiritually dead. In my travels through different countries in Asia for the past 25 years, I estimate that over 90% of the churches in Asia (excluding China) are spiritually dead. They may have been spiritually alive when they were first started by a Spirit-led man but later died when one of these “uncalled” pastors took over.
The situation in China is very different because they do not have such “imported” Bibles-schools that produce career pastors. Chinese “pastors” do not get paid but they often have to pay a heavy price for serving God. Sad to say, the situation in China is also changing rapidly with the establishment of many imported Bible-schools.
Solution:
Unless we realize that “normal” Bible-schools in poor Asian countries attract too many uncalled people who then become uncalled pastors, we will continue to produce pastors who will “kill” our churches. These pastors can be likened to spiritual Frankensteins, who are produced by our Bible-schools and then let loose on our churches. They are usually not easy to remove once they are in place, because though they lack power in their preaching and ministry, they are knowledgeable enough and have been given the “license” to pastor by a credible Bible-school.
The solution to this is simple. if the entry of uncalled people produces uncalled pastors, then the entry requirement needs to be modified. Presently, most Bible-schools follow the usual practice of admitting students with adequate academic qualifications and a recommendation from his pastor. (Remember that a pastor is keen to help his member to get a chance to go to Bible-school. Also, it reflects well on the pastor if he can send more students to Bible-school.)
In poor countries, Bible-schools should focus on admitting those who have already a proven track-record of serving God rather than young school leavers looking for free education, food and future. These men who have already sacrificially served without pay are likely to be “called” by God – and will therefore be empowered by Him.
The few Bible-schools in Asia that have modified their admission policy in considertaion of this policy have produced fewer men but much stronger churches. The denominations in Asia that focus on training proven men, rather than prospect-searching youngsters have far stronger churches and are growing much faster than those that eagerly admit every young man that applies for Bible-school. The Bible-schools that produces spiritual Frankensteins have produced many small, struggling churches. On the other hand, the denominations that focus on training proven men often build large, stable missions-sending churches.
Next post:
Part two of bible-schools in Asia
Positioning to live within a community – Tim is a tentmaker. For prudent reasons, we cannot divulge his real name or citizenship. He did not go to another country but had to make a cross cultural leap within his own country.
Tim has had a growing burden for the majority people group in his country. In this country, it is against the law for this mainstream people group to… Read More....
A few weeks ago, a co-worker of mine who is married to a Korean Christian worker told me something interesting. She said “Korean missionaries unite around the Gospel but we bring our differences to the mission field and fight over them!”
Koreans are basically a strong militant race. They do not shun a fight. The Korean Christian population is also clearly divided into conservative Presbyterians and exuberant Charismatics. In… Read More.... | 1 Comment
Going back to the Philippines for winter break is something I truly looked forward to. After a not so normal Christmas and New Year/birthday celebration in China, I was more than ready to hibernate and enjoy the sun in my home country alone. But as usual, plans change every minute. As Hudson Taylor said, “ Man proposes, God disposes.” Being at the center of His will though is still the… Read More.... | 1 Comment
I absolutely agree with the writer about the above. Spiritual work MUST be done by Spirit filled men who MUST be “gifted” by God Himself to the Ministry. Volunteers who are wrongly motivated will ONLY become a burden when “John Calamity” knock on their doors.
Thank you for this very honest post! Here in Thailand, it is assumed that just because one has graduated from a Bible school, then one is qualified to be a pastor. I have heard some very man-centered moralistic preaching from such “pastors” although there are some good quality men who are called of God, as well. From the Bible schools that I am familiar with here in Thailand, I am not sure that there is a strong financial motive to go to Bible school as the Thai Christians that I know who go to Bible school often pay for it themselvss or have help in-country rather than from abroad, although I could be mistaken about this.
However, some young people do consider Bible school because they don’t know what else to do with themselves or because of a percieved need to “shape up” their lives, in much the same way a Thai Buddhist young man might enter the monkhood in order to make a break with his former life and start over again. I have counselled two such young men to hold off going to Bible school, continue secular studies/get a job, and to seek to grow in their faith through Scripture study, and learning to serve in church.
You mention the fact that Asian Bible schools are often copies of the West. Do you think one of the factors in this could be an undue fascination and exaltation of all these Western? In other words, the attitude that “If it is being done like this in the West, it must be good, and we should copy it”. What is done in the West may be good in some respects, but unless there is some critical thinking about which parts to copy, which to modify, and which to throw out entirely, then the Bible schools will stay in the state that they are. Bible schools need to focus more on the principles of Biblical education rather than the form and outward appearance of it.
yes, it’s so true that most Asians who graduate fr Bible-school believe that they’re qualified to be pastors. In fact, most of them are addressed as pastors as soon as they graduate fr Bible-school. In reality, graduating fr most Bible-schools simply proves that they are able academically able students who are able to pass the Bible-school examinations. It certainly doesn’t mean that they are called to be pastors. While Bible-schools can train men, it is only the Holy Spirit who can call men to His work.
I also agree with you that most Asians still consider anything imported from the West to be superior – including and especially Christian “things.” While we must thank God for the dear Western missionaries that brought us the Gospel, we must be careful not to swallow every Western Christian tradition as if they are Bible truths.
very real in Asia, this problem.