Impoverished ministry

In her book Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo, suggests that the over one trillion dollars worth of aid pumped into Africa over the past decade has not only failed to increase economic growth for most countries on that continent, but has in fact been a part of reducing economic output.

The consideration is important because it is economic growth that ultimately reduces poverty.

Moho looks at the critical thinking behind the Marshal Plan credited with helping European nations recover from World War Ii.

The idea: The process of economic growth is based on a nation developing sufficient savings to enable investment. Investment stimulates growth which positions the country for poverty reduction through developing an effective work force and sustainable markets.

The problem with aid of the magnitude what has been sent to Africa is that it attempted to short circuit this process by artificially creating savings that weren't really savings.

So budgeting aside: is our ministry team impoverished?

Are people going hungry? Are we failing to develop and invest in people's ideas?

Are we seeking to alleviate this poverty of passionate involvement with our own version of a ministry Marshal Plan?

Savings is gained by sacrifice.

Maybe we have to give up something to put social capital in the bank. What areas are artificial attempts to "do good stuff"?

Unless you write it down, chances are you'll blow your budget and your savings and investment portfolio will never be realized.

Where can we best spend our time and energy to catalyze positive life change?

Who will be with us as we save, invest, and stimulate growth for our ministry?

So what is the currency of ministry and how do you plan to develop it?

Once you have it, how do you spend (devote yourself to engage with) it?

Hopefully we won't have to squander the equivalent of a trillion dollars worth of agonizing meetings, purposeless programs, hours of planning, inboxes full of emails, and chasing after pulpit support and bulletin articles to realize what we're doing worked in post WW II Europe but doesn't seem to spark to much interest or imagination out there today.