The Christian lives in two kingdoms, according to the classic Lutheran definition - that of power and that of grace. The two must always be sharply distinguished and yet they do not contradict each other but must always work harmoniously side by side, in each other's interest.
But imagine the difficulty for a missionary who is both pastor to a group of Christians, and at the same time boss of the mission organization in which many of the church members work. The missionary must "render to Caesar and render to God." Is he always able to explain his actions in each realm?
Many of the paid church workers, who are also members of the missionary/pastor's congregation, are confused. When is he dealing with me as a pastor, and when as a boss?
I can imagine the local people who lived and worked in the old-fashioned missionary compounds of Africa or India during the past century, often had the same question. If I depend on the missionary for my salary, and there is very little possibility of me getting another job, does this not make me a paid slave? Keep in mind my "pay" is a mere fraction of what I would receive for the same work in the missionary's home land.
At the same time, the missionary is my pastor. Can I actually go to him with my concerns? Can there exist an honest and open relationship?
Maybe, but it is not easy. The missionary as spiritual head and mission boss is a confusing concept. Add to this the difficulty of adjusting my thinking when the missionary leaves and places one of the local men in charge of the church. Suddenly I have a pastor who is not my boss. The local fellow does not dispense the resources the missionary dispensed, he has no access to those resources.
One might think that in this situation we are moving toward the goal of self-support, self-governance, and self-propagation for the local congregation. It is true that the mission might have placed a local fellow as pastor, but the result is most often not what we expect. The majority of the people, the members of the missionary/pastor's congregation, leave. They do not care to be members of the local fellow's congregation.
We observe this happening in many missions and congregations. The missionary leaves, the church dwindles to a hand-full of members. A local congregation dropped from an average attandance of 100 per Sunday to less than 20. Another, from 150 to 30. Another is currently in the transition period, the people know the missionary is leaving, he has named a local fellow as his replacement, and the attendance goes down each Sunday. At one time 450 attended, now less than 200, and that mainly due to rapid turnover.
If you have any suggestions as to what might be happening, let me know. Along with whatever other factors might be present, we observe a direct connection between the missionary as material resource person, and the number of people gathered around him or her. The more gifts you pass around, the more people gather around.
Your observer suggests that the missionary should not be both spiritual head and mission paymaster. The people are confused, the Gospel message is not clear, the Kingdom of Power and the Kingdom of Grace are not clearly defined.
It might take some time and effort to figure out a better method, but that is what people who sit behind desks get paid for. The methods which produce the confusion are outdated, and are a disservice to the proclamation of the Gospel.