To Give or Not to Give: Rethinking Dependency, Restoring Generosity, and Redefining Sustainability

Modern mission theory is guided largely by the quot;three self paradigmquot; that suggests indigenous churches can only be healthy if they are quot;selfgoverning selfpropagating and selfsupporting.quot; Consequently Western missionaries their churches and their agencies have been increasingly indisposed to giving generously.nbsp;We must rethink the interplay of dollars dependency and what it means to quot;do the right thingquot; with our money as we pursue twentyfirst century missions.nbsp; This book answers the questions whether Westerners ought quot;to give or not to givequot; in support of global evangelism and encourages maximum generosity as the path most reflective of God's heart on the matter.

"John Rowell has provided a great service to the global church. He challenges us to examine how we are to live out oneness in Christ by touching the most sensitive nerve in our body--our pocketbook. His biblical insights coupled with personal experience in Bosnia has lead him to explore an alternative route towards interdependence within the body of Christ. Be forewarned that this book will smash some historical sacred cows of Christian mission."--Gary Edmonds, Churches Together

"I thank God for John Rowell. God has given him an unusual and remarkable spiritual ability to look at the old and to come up with new and unorthodox insights. You may not adopt all of them, but I believe that this is a book that every international and local church missions leader would do well to prayerfully read."--Paul Cedar, Mission America Coalition

"John Rowell is to be thanked for tackling one of the most intractable challenges facing the post-Constantinian missionary enterprise from the West. His book is the best that I have seen on the subject of dependency. To Give or Not to Give? deserves to become required reading for church leaders and mission committees, mission policy makers and missionaries, missiologists and missionaries-in-training."--Jonathan J. Bonk, Overseas Ministries Study Center

"In To Give or Not to Give? John Rowell takes on long-standing premises that have guided the fi scal aspects of world missions for more than a century. His book shares a new and, I believe, a more biblical approach to funding world evangelism. The reading and digesting of this book will add a new dimension to global outreach--a dimension that could revolutionize the way we do world missions."--Kenneth M. Meyer, Trinity International University

"John Rowell's treatise is a welcome call for twenty-first century leaders to overcome the drawbacks of dependency by urging us toward true partnership and healthy expressions of mutual support. He connects both with a profound argument for a return to simple generosity and a spirit of covenant commitment. I am convinced his perspective is missiologically sound and theologically based--a practical approach to advancing world missions that we can all learn from. I have watched the principles expressed in To Give or Not to Give? Work in practice since we began partnering with John Rowell fifteen years ago. Based on my experience, it is easy to commend his challenges to church and mission leaders everywhere."--Damir Spoljaric, The Evangelical Church of Croatia

"As a former CMA missionary for twenty-five years and denominational mission executive for five more, I have observed the pendulum swinging back from policies discouraging financial assistance to national churches to a more pragmatic approach consistent with principles of partnership and compassion. John Rowell's scholarly work will assist mission agencies and churches to bring this topic boldly back on the table and provide the verbal tools to enter into effective dialogue. To Give or Not to Give? is a must-read for anyone responsible for the distribution of mission finances."--John A. Harvey, First Alliance Church, Toccoa, Georgia