Last week, Gospel for Asia (GFA) was stripped of it’s accreditation by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). In addition to being of note to potential donors, this bit of news is particularly disappointing given the fact that GFA was a “charter” (founding) member of the organization.
ECFA stewardship standards call for a reasonable level of transparency in top-level management and financial practice. As sometimes happens when an individual responds to God’s call, and over time creates a dynamic organization devoted to doing that work, the organization may later begin to feel that the call is more important than the means used to accomplish it. Then questionable means get substituted for God’s way in pursuit of the assigned mission…. the organization feels (in the heat of battle, it must be noted) that the ends justify the means.
But as soon as we abandon God’s way of doing things, God no longer inhabits the Call. In the Christian world view, holy ends and holy means ride tandem. Think through the many examples in history where we have resorted to less then Godly means to accomplish God-given ends… the resulting witness reflects poorly on ourselves, our churches, our service organizations -- and our God.
There is much speculation about the specific reasons for GFA’s termination; we hope that ECFA and/or GFA will share this information in the interests of simple transparency and accountability. Too, existing and potential donors need, and have a right to expect, this information to make wise stewardship decisions themselves. We hope GFA’s expulsion doesn’t involve a charge that donors’ intents (especially gifts directed towards life-saving spiritual and physical care for the least and last) were ignored and funds diverted to help pay for indigenous denominational administration and/or a new (and presumably badly needed) headquarters building in Texas. This would disturb us because donors’ ability to confidently direct which broad arenas their gifts are to be used in is critical to stimulating generosity and fostering an attitude of cheerful giving. Anything less than total integrity in honoring donor intent hurts the donor base, the population the organization serves, and our collective Christian witness to a watching world.
We are all – Christian organizations and individual believers – ambassadors for Christ. We do not get to choose “if” we will be ambassadors – our only choice is what kind of ambassadors we will be. The way in which we pursue our calling matters… to God, and to those looking for God in our actions.