The only problem was, poor Cambodians build their houses on stilts so they can sit underneath during the heat of the day and enjoy the cool breeze. So, no-one wanted to live in these ill-conceived foreign monstrosities. They stand empty and abandoned on the edge of the village - a testament to another failed partnership.

A stone’s throw away, stands a rusting pump and well that had been installed by a different group of foreigners, which had fallen into disrepair and also lay abandoned - for multiple reasons that I won't list here.

Each group had good hearts and probably were deeply impacted by their trip. They probably went back to their home church bursting with amazing tales of miracles and encouragement.

But Jesus says we should judge a tree by its fruit and I'm having trouble seeing the fruit for the poor in this scenario.

So, here's an alternative approach, straight from the life of Jesus. It’s found in Luke chapter 9. A passage in which Jesus gathers his team together for an inspiring chat.

Imagine you are part of that team. Cos, you know - you're a disciple too. So, it's not that weird.

There are twelve of you, and sorry to say, so far you’ve proven to be a pretty lackluster bunch gathered mostly from the margins of society – fishermen and outcasts.

But Jesus figures it’s time to send you out on your own to do some ministry. So He gives you Power and Authority to go kick some demon asses and heal some sick people. That's all you need and you're set to go.

But then Jesus gives you one final instruction that blows your mind. It just seems too hard. Too crazy. Get this - Jesus commands your team to take NOTHING for the journey:

no stash of Dr Pepper or peanut butter or any food at all

no Northface backpack with built in compartment for a sleeping bag

no visa card or even any local currency

no change of clothes…

Nothin!

Read it for yourself in case you think I'm making this up:

He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. (Luke 9:3,4a)

Hmmm. This is a hard one. I mean, you’re going to need a change of undies at least, surely!?!

Before you write this one off as simply too tough, let’s grapple with it for a moment shall we? Here's my suggestion of how to understand what Jesus is doing here:

In stripping your team of their basic resources, Jesus is forcing you to rely completely on the local resources of the villages you visit as you do ministry.

He is forcing you to empower local people by your posture of dependence. Matthew put it even more clearly:

“Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for a worker is worthy of his food” (Matthew 10:9-10).

This is actually an incredibly IMPORTANT principle.

You see, bringing outside resources to help solve problems, without the ability of local people to copy that same strategy is the opposite of empowering – it’s immensely DIS-empowering. It sends the clear message that problems can only be solved by well-resourced outsiders.

Sure, those resources you bring will make an immediate difference. They will solve the problem. For now. But what happens the next time those people face a similar problem? They will be forced to turn back to you (or someone like you) for help again, thus setting in motion the inevitable patron-client relationship that we all know and love to hate.

So, Jesus is laying a foundation for an approach to ministry that is built entirely on working within the limitations of local people and encouraging reliance on God rather than you.