Guarding Allegiance: Missionaries, Nations, and Intelligence Work
How should missionaries relate to national authorities without confusing loyalty to their home country with allegiance to the kingdom of God?
Missionaries step into political environments already charged with suspicion, nationalism, and competing agendas. Hale urges them to keep their public identity firmly rooted in the kingdom of God, not in their passport country. Missionaries should never be known as advocates for their home nation, and they must categorically refuse any request to cooperate with their country’s intelligence services, no matter how minor the request may appear (Hale, On Being a Missionary, 178). Even a small favor can brand a missionary as an agent of a foreign power and endanger both the work and the local believers.
This posture does not require emotional detachment from one’s homeland. Missionaries may and should continue to love their country, give thanks for its blessings, and pray for its leaders. The issue is a priority. Their deepest loyalty belongs to Christ and to the advance of His kingdom. When national expectations collide with gospel priorities, the missionary must choose the gospel.
When national expectations collide with gospel priorities, the missionary must choose the gospel.
Hale summarizes the governing principle with memorable clarity: “the rule is: don’t do anything that will jeopardize the advance of the kingdom of God” (Hale, On Being a Missionary, 178).
A missionary who quietly but firmly refuses intelligence cooperation and political partisanship sends a clear message: the missionary has come as a servant of Christ, not as an arm of any earthly regime. This moral clarity protects the missionary’s witness, shields the local church from being treated as a political faction, and helps authorities understand that Christians seek the good of all, not the victory of one party.
Missionaries must guard their allegiance so carefully that no action, partnership, or perceived loyalty is allowed to jeopardize the advance of the kingdom of God.
Disclaimer: Information in my “slip-box” doesn’t necessarily reflect my agreement with the source or all its content. Recording diverse perspectives helps strengthen one’s position beyond the echo chamber of like-minded thinkers. By documenting alternative viewpoints, we engage in the intellectual wrestling match that ultimately deepens our understanding.
I aspire to post one note from my “slip-box” every weekday. If you want to learn more about how to work with knowledge, click this link: What is knowledge management?
Pastor Dan Patrick, raised in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., holds both a Bible degree and a Master’s of Divinity. He has ministered across five states from coast to coast, serving in various capacities, including pastoral leadership. Dan’s primary mission is to help people love God’s Word and find their purpose in God’s work.
Reviving Leadership Training in American Churches — Applies the same urgency to cultivating local leaders so churches can sustain gospel work.
Leave a Reply