I recently finished reading K.P. Yohannan’s book Revolution in World Missions (1.5 million copies in print). I have to admit that, although I had seen in numerous times before, I had no intentions of reading it. But after my wife kept telling me about it as she read it, I picked it up when she was done and was very glad that I did.
This is a fantastic book, easy to read, and a page turner. Yohannan speaks of recent drastic changes in World Missions in light of today’s political and social climate, and he pulls no punches when it comes to the state of the Western Church. He steps on lots of toes in his examination of our comfortable Christianity in light of those truly suffering for the sake of Christ. And best of all, you can order this book absolutely free from the Gospel For Asia website.
Here’s an excerpt from the forward of the book by David and Karen Mains:
“. . . Those evangelists traveling into the unreached villages of Asia have more heart, more fervor, more passion to spread the Gospel of Christ than most of us who are surrounded by the comforts and conveniences of our Western world. We know because we have seen them and talked with them, and they have put us to shame.”
Not a book for the satisfied with the status-quo, don’t-rock-the-boat, nominal professing Christians, but definitely a book for those who have a heart for God, a heart for the spreading of the Gospel, and a heart for their neighbor… even if that neighbor is on the other side of the world.
Christ Alone Wyoming 
I read this book a couple years ago, and it amazed me that anyone would say what he did in such a frank, honest, unflinching manner. The church needs more men like KP Yohanen.
Maybe we could have a couple cases sent to TBN.
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Yes, I agree it’s a great book! I wish more Christians would have this on their bookshelf instead of Osteen and Warren.
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how can i order the book? My country was not been listed..I live in South-East Asia. I hope to have a copy
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Dear Evelyn:
You can order the book for FREE by going to the GFA order page located here.
– The Pilgrim
P.S. I also highly recommend his other book, The Road to Reality.
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I just finished reading the book, and having grown up in India, and ministered there for some time, knowing the ground realities and the culture, I can say I was appalled! ArchBishop Yohannan paints with broad brush-strokes and only paints half the picture. In doing so he distorts the truth, but makes it convincing by using half-truths. Here are 4 areas he distorts:
1. The affluence of Americans – Affluence is not condemned in scripture, but greed is. (1 Tim 6:17-18; Eph 5:5). He condemns Americans in general, and American Christians for being affluent, completely overlooking the sacrificial generosity of many American Christians. It is not a sin to have running water in the home, to buy a hamburger and coke, or eat a dessert. By condemning American Christians for their affluence (not for greed), he does the same thing of which he accuses western missionaries – not understanding the culture, and judging the culture by another culture (in his case, judging American culture by Indian culture.) I understand where he is coming from, for I unfairly judged American believers when I arrived in the US for college. I have since learned to understand both the culture and to think more biblically about affluence and greed. One is condemned, and one is not. In a subpoint, I would mention that greed is not limited to Americans, but is universal in its scope, which is why one of the ten commandments is “do not covet”. Americans only have more to show for their greed than poorer nations.
To be sure, all believers are to be on the watch against greed, and American believers and Indian believers alike need to learn this.
2. He distorts God’s power. He states that by not giving to national missionaries, the western church will “frustrate the plan of God.” He also states that national missionaries are waiting on finances in order that they can be sent, and that they need western finances.
If the western church can frustrate the plan of God by not giving, then God is impotent. If national missionaries are waiting on finances in order that they can be sent, then they are not sent by God but by western money – they are hirelings. If they are sent by God, they do not “need” western finances – God will provide for their needs with or without the western church.
(Let me just say that this does not excuse us from giving. If we do not give toward the spreading of the gospel, God will find other means to support it, but we will not receive the blessing of being a part of it.)
By distorting the power of God, he places the responsibility and the guilt of reaching foreign countries with the gospel directly on the shoulders of the western church. That is highly unbiblical.
3. He distorts the image of western missionaries. He does not differentiate between missionaries sent by liberal churches, believing in a social gospel, and those sent by churches whose goal is to preach the gospel of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ. The former often do live above the people they minister among, and leave no fruit behind. The latter usually live like the people they minister among, and leave lasting fruit behind because it is God who is working through them (Jn 15:1-7). By distorting the image of western missionaries, he slaps those godly ministers of the gospel in the face in order to serve his own ends.
4. He distorts the image of the Indian missionaries. To be sure, there are Indian missionaries who are just like he described, and we praise God for them. But Indians are humans too – they have their squabbles, prejudices, greed, and self-centeredness, just like American believers do. There are those who sacrificially preach the gospel, but there are also those who build an empire to themselves and live above the people they supposedly minister among. By distorting this picture, he paints an image of super-missionaries who are totally trustworthy and unworthy of being held accountable.
When giving to the work of the gospel, whether it is to a western or eastern missionary, make sure they are accountable in some way, for we are all human and all prone to greed. Even Paul made sure that he was accountable when he took the offering from the Macedonian and Corinthian churches to Jerusalem.
In short, because of its half-truths, I do not recommend this book.
Nathan
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Dear Nathan (and others),
Thank you very much for your insights. I also was a bit skeptical after reading this book. However not because of the broad generalizations about missionaries, cultures of economic affluence, and the effectiveness of national leaders. I think these assertions are for the most part quite true although I would agree with you we should avoid such “half-truths” even though they are perhaps more like “90% truths”, if that makes sense.
Where I differ is on the missiological issue of supporting missionaries. Where do we find this model? Is it biblical or is it cultural? The monies collected by Paul where for the saints back in Jerusalem who initially gave for the establishment of the early church. Paul went with nothing, was received by those who he went with, supplied his needs by his own hands (Acts. 20:34) and yet was never a burden on anybody (2 Cor. 11-21). So, quite honestly, and I am speaking as a missionary I do not understand this need to be supported. In Matthew 10 (again in Mat. 9 and Luke 10) we are given the clearest instructions on how to go out… take nothing, not even a bag, not even money, not even sandals, or and extra tunic. Go to a house and if they receive you put God’s peace on that house and stay there until your work is done for a worker is worthy of his wages! There is something about sharing the Gospel that when we include others in the work they are also blessed and become participants in it. The current support based model not only doesn’t have a strong biblical bases or model but robs the local indigenous ownership of participating in the Great Commission. Look at Hudson Taylor. This was his model. Depend upon no one but the Lord and look at how recilient the Inland China Mission churches are even today! In fact I would be as bold as to say that is WHY they are so resilient because the founding members knew that ONLY in Christ can we put our dependence. Not in church support, not in our mission sending agency, not even in our congregation. Just in Christ alone. Actually, I will go as far as saying that this was not Hudson’s model but rather what Christ asks of us directly. To depend strictly upon Him and nothing else.
Having said all this I do believe that the Northern-Western church does need to act on the issues of economic justice and the disparity of how riches are distributed globally. That is why Amos was written and Israel was prophesied against. They used their wealth to create injust systems that disallowed them from the being the light and salt on the earth that the Lord intended them to be. The Northern church needs to heed this call seriously and not fall trap the callings of comfort of an economy the preys upon the weakness of other economies. We need to actively seeking to be agents of His justice which includes taking care of the needs of our neighbors.
So how can mission work and justice be inter-linked? That is a question I am wrestling with myself. Perhaps they shouldn’t even be mixed? The church does need to do something but what? I do know that when supported missionaries come on to the mission field they are basically discredited by nationals for many reasons. They, the missionaries, are not in need of the locals for support so they do it on their own. Local ownership and leadership development is stymied. At the end, local leaders either see missionaries as a free ticket out of the issues that they should really be resolving or as unattached to the realities of the locals because after all they are free from having to live in dependence of work. You could justify that missionary duties are work but why then would Paul talk about his hands? That is why I think Paul in Acts. 20:34 goes out of his way to explain this to us. He understood the need to be respected by local leaders. And there is nothing more basic in being respected in a community by how you put bread on the table…. literally.
Just some thoughts… would love your opinion.
Un abrazo para todos en el Señor,
Tomás Enrique
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I apprciate the posts. I have not read the book. There is probably truth to what he has to say so there might be a “proper balance” issue here. Nathan’s and Tomas’ responses really hit home for me, thank you for that insight. Honestly a “red flag” for me was the “Archbishop” title. I like to go by what Mt 23:9 says; we are brothers. the context is not to lift anyone, especially yourself, up above others. Peter gives a great example of this also in Acts 10:25-26. Does that mean we throw out anything he has to say, no, but we should look into who we are taking advice from.
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