Movements and Money

They left everything and followed him.

My next book will be on the movement of God in Acts. Here are a few (unedited) thoughts on movements and money.

I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. Acts 20:33-34

Jesus led the way

When Jesus left Nazareth to be baptized by John in the Jordan he walked away from his trade and income as a carpenter, leaving his mother in the care of his brothers and sisters.

Jesus called some of his disciples away from their usual occupations to follow him while he trained them to make disciples. Jesus urged them to trust the Father to provide. The first disciples left their fishing nets, boats and hired workers and trusted God to provide. Peter at least was trusting God to provide for his wife, mother-in-law and children. James and John left the family business in the hands of their father Zebedee. Matthew left his tax booth.

At times God’s provided miraculously. Jesus also relied on the financial support of a group of wealthy women who occasionally travelled on mission with a wider group of disciples. Jesus modelled dependency on the hospitality of those who, like Zacchaeus, welcomed him and his message. When Jesus sent the Twelve and the Seventy (two) on mission he expected God to provide food and lodging through households who likewise welcomed them.

The spread of God’s Word is at the heart of the movement of God; worry, riches and pleasures choke the Word and prevent it from producing a crop. Jesus taught it is hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. The rich young man went away sad, his wealth was the one thing that prevented him from following Jesus.

Jesus taught his disciples to give generosity to the poor. He shared a common purse with the twelve from which they met the costs of their mission and gave to the poor. Jesus wanted his disciples to give generously, trusting that their Father in heaven knew their needs and would provide.

The Gospels give just one reason for Judas’ betrayal. He wanted the money. Money played a role in Satan’s attacks on the emerging movement through Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, and Simon the sorcerer. The love of money and the comfort and security it brings is a threat to discipleship and the health and expansion of a movement.

The story in Acts

In Acts life in the community of faith is characterized by generosity so that the needs of the poor are met. People did not regard their wealth as their own.

The leaders of the movement were from Galilee. After being on the road with Jesus for three years, they probably relocated their families to Jerusalem. Somehow they had to support themselves in what must have been an expensive city. Luke doesn’t give us the details of how they did that, although he does report Peter’s reply to the lame beggar at the temple, “Silver and gold I have none.”

Most likely they relied on the generosity of the community for the support of their families and to cover the costs of their mission in Jerusalem and beyond.

When the Greek-speaking widows were overlooked in the daily distribution of food, the apostles responded by appointing seven men of character and spiritual maturity to sort it out while the twelve prioritized prayer and the ministry of the Word, ensuring the health and the expansion of the movement.

Paul proclaimed the gospel free of charge and did not want to be a burden on new disciples. He was willing to humble himself and go down the social ladder to support himself and his coworkers. Priscilla and Aquila, like Paul, could support themselves when they served in Corinth, Ephesus and Rome.

Paul accepted gifts from other churches only after he left them and only if the gift came without strings attached. In his letters, Paul defended the right of missionaries to be supported by the churches. While in Corinth, Paul worked as a tentmaker in the shop of Aquila and Priscilla. When Timothy and Silas arrived with a gift from the Macedonian churches Paul put aside his trade and devoted himself full-time to the mission.

Paul was in Roman custody for over four years during which he could not earn a living. Typically prisoners were not fed by their captors and had to rely on the generosity of others. Fortunately during his longest imprisonments in Caesarea and Rome, there were local believers who could help. As a prisoner in Rome, Paul was responsible to pay for his accommodation. Rome was an expensive city and Paul’s apartment was large enough for him, his guard and coworkers, and the many guests who visited. It’s unlikely Paul would have been allowed or able to work while a soldier chained to his wrist.

Jesus did not leave his disciples any instructions regarding financial provision and management. He gave them his Word, the Spirit and the task. He promised that as they went to the ends of the earth, he would be with them. There was no map, strategic plan or timetable. Just a promise that the power of God’s Spirit was enough to get their witness to every people and every place.

Who paid for Luke and Aristarcus’ voyage to Rome with Paul? Who paid their living expenses when they arrived in Rome? Luke doesn’t say. He’s not focused on organizational and funding issues, which is not to say they are not important. Jesus expected his disciples to work it out as they went, but there are some lessons we learn from Luke’s account.

According to Jesus, a true disciple trusts God by placing obedience to his Word above the desire for money and security. Just as a disciple who falls into the love of money will become unfruitful, so will a disciple making movement become unfruitful. Money does not fuel movements, commitment does.

The vast majority of the work in any movement is done by volunteers, not paid professionals. Nobody paid Philip to go down to Samaria and preach to thousands. Nobody paid unnamed disciples who fled Jerusalem with the gospel and opened the door to reaching Gentiles in Antioch. For every Paul, there are hundreds, even thousands who volunteer their time and resources for the cause.

In Luke’s Gospel and Acts God provided a variety of funding sources for the advance of the movement. There were missionaries who supported themselves and others through their trade. There were volunteers who served at their own expense. There were ordinary believers, wealthy individuals and churches that gave money. There were hosts who opened their homes to travelling teams; homes that became meeting places for new churches.

The challenge of funding a movement isn’t only about raising money, it also involves keeping costs low in the first place. The movement didn’t require a temple, a priesthood or any of the trappings of ancient religions. Most of the workers were volunteers, most of the churches met in homes.

The other strategy is to push the responsibility for funding to the field. There is no supply chain stretching back to Jerusalem from Samaria or the Phoenician coast or back to Antioch from Macedonia and Achaia. The churches that were planted soon had local leaders and were responsible for their own funding. It wasn’t long before these churches released resources and workers to advance in unreached fields. In this way the movement remained flexible and nimble, able to multiply. To organize and fund the movement centrally would have choked its growth.

The oxygen of a movement is the commitment of its people—to give, to go, to serve without pay, to open their homes, to work with their hands, to trust that the power of God goes with them as they take the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.