(Editor’s Note: This article was written by Jim E. Waldron, who preaches for a church that agrees with church support of some organizations and sponsoring churches. In the same bulletin he wrote this article, he had another one trying to justify churches sending to boards of directors in benevolence and misused 2 Cor. 11:8 and Phil. 4:15 to try to prove that Philippi received money from other churches to forward to Paul (the sponsoring church). I have slightly edited the article for space. If you didn’t get the title—read it: Am/a/gona Do/ma/will.)

“The following is an unbelievable story of an interview between a religious editor and a certain doctor named above. Sadly the truth is worse than this fiction.

Editor: Please, Doctor Domawill, tell us about the work of the organization which you and others began just a short time ago.

Doctor: Oooh, Yes sir! Yes sir! Our organization is in the forefront of getting the gospel to the lost and dying world. Do you realize there are 6.1 billion people in this world and we must preach to them. Yes sir, we are in the forefront!

Ed.: I see, but can you tell us more about your organization?

Dr.: We are getting the gospel to the former Iron Curtain countries by radio, television, the printed page and we also train and send out teachers and missionaries. We are in the forefront!!

Ed.: But doctor how is your group set up? How is it organized?

Dr.: Set up? Well, we are known as “The Great Society Evangelistic Fellowship,” and we have a board of directors who are duly organized and incorporated with one of our officers over each major department. We have a radio department, a television department, a printing and translation department, and a department for training and sending out teachers and missionaries….

        Ed.: But doctor is this the work of a local church?

Dr.: A church? No! No, indeed! We are what you might call an ultra-church or maybe a para-church organization. It’s true, some on our board are elders in various congregations, but it is not the work of a local congregation. Yet, I’m proud to tell you that I am not only the president of “The Great Society Evangelistic Fellowship,” but I am a church bishop myself. No, we are not the church.

Ed.: Then you operate independently of the local churches?

Dr.: Independently? Uh, uh…

Ed.: I mean simply, you are not a church nor the work of a local congregation. Are you not an independent organization?

Dr.: Independent? What? Are trying to cut off our most lucrative source of income? The answer to your question is NO! In fact, we are very dependent on the local churches for our funds. We send out hundreds, thousands of letters urging the churches to send us their missionary dollars. When the iron curtain fell we were among the first to see how we could use that news to raise thousands, maybe even millions, to support our organization and to preach the gospel. We, in fact, have several hundred local churches that contribute to our organization regularly. We put on programs, train and send the teachers and missionaries on behalf of the churches. The churches do not have to go to the trouble of setting up training classes in their own facilities. It leaves their buildings free for gym, recreational and sports activities. They do not have to worry about finding the man they will sponsor. That is all done for them. They just simply send us a check each month and we do the rest.

Ed.: But doctor aren’t you in fact a missionary society?

Dr.: No! No! Let’s not use those loaded words. We don’t put controls on the churches and they don’t send us delegates, so don’t say we are parallel to a missionary society. That’s negative.

Ed.: I didn’t mean to imply you are parallel to a missionary society. What I wanted to establish by the question was, are you not in truth a missionary society per se?

Dr.: Stop that! Stop using those loaded words! That is negative, negative, negative.

Ed.: But doctor, would it not be according to the pattern for the local churches to co-operate among themselves to train and send out teachers and missionaries? Can they not set up great commission schools at night and on Saturdays, and schools of preaching to train teachers, preachers and evangelists? Why do they need para-church organizations to train and send out missionaries for them? Is God not to be glorified in His organization, the church? Isn’t the church God’s missionary society? Should not local churches be carrying on such work and elders…

 Dr.: Churches? Elders? They don’t have the wisdom to do these great things. They need us. What are you trying to do? Put us out of business? We are an awesome organization doing an awesome work for an awesome cause. You will see our way is best. This way elders just send us a check” (Bulletin Briefs, Dunlap, Tn., Jan. 2002).