Vulnerable Mission - Responsible Mission

Last week I had the privilege of attending the Conference for Vulnerable Mission in Norwich, England. This was a gathering of mission scholars and practitioners who desire to practice responsible mission as it relates to missionary practices, finances, and holding to indigenous principles. The conference was hosted by the Alliance for Vulnerable Mission which "seeks to encourage a wider use of mission and development strategies that depend on locally available resources and local languages." (from the website)

It was a joy to be with a friend of mine, whom I served with in Cambodia in the early 90's, as she was the keynote speaker for the conference. We reminisced about times gone by. But along the course of our conversation, she apologized to me for how we "did missions" in those days, and this apology made me think. 

I have always said that I knew so little about being a missionary during those days. I first went to Cambodia just a few days from my 23rd birthday. I was a Bible college graduate, had a call of God on my life, and knew that God had led me to serve in Cambodia. I learned much from my missionary colleagues, but had never experienced or even read about a lot of the things we encountered in those days. The country was in shambles and there was such a great need everywhere you turned. We sometimes think of mission as what we can do for those who need the most help. If that was the definition, we were definitely fulfilling mission and could see the tangible results each day. However, were we conducting "responsible" mission? 

I lived in Cambodia for 3 years ('92-95), and then returned for another 6 months in 1997. So much has changed from those early days, and I can't comment on the long-term results of our actions because I was not there, but I will say that I have learned a few things in the last 21 years since I first arrived in Cambodia. The key lesson I have learned is that each culture has embedded in its cultural fabric a desire to know God and to communicate the truths of scripture in a unique way. Our role within that culture is to learn the language and culture as deeply as possible so that we communicate in a way that they understand from their cultural viewpoint, not ours, and then duplicate the message of the Gospel in a way that is understood clearly in that culture. We must refrain from the rush to reach them which prevents us taking the time to know them first. We must also refrain from using our own understanding, methods, and forms of church, evangelism, and mission, and forcing others to join us from our cultural point of view, not theirs. 

Mission takes time. Time to learn language, culture (much more than food!), and the heart of the people. In training students for ministry, I try to communicate and emulate these principles even for a home-culture setting. Each community we enter has its own unique culture embedded into the fabric of society. If we don't take time to understand what that is, we continue doing what we know, not what will bring true transformation to a society through Christ.

At the end of the day, to be engaged in responsible mission is to think about how we "do mission" and to understand that our actions, resources, and understanding of "church" may not be the way that we are to comprehend "church" from the cultural viewpoint that we have been called.  I believe that first and foremost, responsible mission is to be completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom that we need to engage in God's mission. It is not to re-create our own version of Christianity in far-away lands, thereby removing the importance of language, culture, and time in our presentation of the gospel. 

Just because we have more money than the culture we are serving in doesn't mean we have to give it all away. This produces dependency and an unhealthy view of the Gospel. 

Just because we have more experience in Christianity in our culture doesn't mean that it is the way in which Christianity will be expressed in their culture. 

Chris Wright, in his book The Mission of God, defines mission and missionary as follows:

Mission: Our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation. 

Missionary: referring to people who engage in mission, usually in a culture other than their own. It has even more of a flavor of “being sent” than the word mission itself.  

We all have a part in mission. I pray that we be committed to participate in what God has invited and commanded us to do, allowing the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and guidance in our praxis so that the Gospel is presented in a way that is revealed through the culture itself.

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If you want to read more on this topic, check out my friends book "We are not the hero" and the website of World Mission Associates.

Do. Not. Quit.

In the midst of this time of study, there are days when I would like to quit. Developing theory and training your mind to think about things differently is not for the faint of heart. 

Recently I spent a week at the guest house of an Anglican Franciscan convent for a writing retreat. The food was good, the bed warm, and the environment conducive for writing. I wrote about 6000 words during those 6 days. However, I also wrote a few messages to friends that said: "What in the world am I doing?" "Why am I doing this?"

Why am I doing this?

It is easier to quit. It won't hurt anyone. Why bother?

Let the brainiacs write the theory and study theology. I'll just keep on doing and serving.

Then I stopped and took a look around at my setting. I was in a place where women had committed their life to God and prayer. They prayed together 5 times a day, every day, and then also committed the rest of the time of their day to prayer and doing good works. They grew their own food. They made  items to sell for the upkeep of their house. They did this every day. 

They could have gone the easy route and gone to the store to purchase food. They didn't have to pray 5 times day. Surely it was enough to have only one corporate prayer. They could have said: 

It is easier to quit. It won't hurt anyone. Why bother?

But they don't. I met two ladies who had lived this life for more days than I have been alive. They loved God and because of their love for Him, they committed all of their days to Him. Sure they could have taken an easy route, but they chose to pray. Prayer is hard work. It takes discipline. It takes time. It interrupts the day. It never stops.

But it works.

So why do I bother writing a PhD? Because I believe that somewhere in this God is directing me to Him. I'm learning. I'm growing. I'm stretching. 

Sometimes I would like to give up because it just seems too hard. It takes far too much discipline. It takes an enormous amount of time. It interrupts my day. It feels like it will never stop.

But it works.

It is working to form my thinking, stretch my assumptions, and hopefully, somehow, will change a part of the world. And hopefully change it for the good of the Kingdom of God, not just my little world.

Is it easy? No way. 
Will there be more days that I would like to stop? Probably.

But I need to see the bigger picture to realize that this process is probably not for me, but for the next generation. The theories and thoughts that I put on paper will hopefully affect the theories and thoughts of those who follow me. If I can think differently about theology and missiology - to see it as God sees it - maybe, just maybe I can get it right and communicate that to someone else.

So, why am I doing this?

Because I am not going to quit.*

*special thanks to Sister Margaret for her inspiration.

The Community of St. Clare, Oxfordshire, England