Monday, May 31, 2010

Missions & the will of God

I remember back in the 80's, I believe, trying to discern the Will of God was all the fad. Books like "Decision Making and the Will of God: An Alternative to the Traditional View" by Gerry Friessen was making a splash. I was searching for how to relate my call to serve among the poor with a love for learning and even law. I spent a summer in Japan after college graduation which extended into half a year after hearing clearly God's voice. I did a year at a Baptist seminary but after another summer mission immersion in the Dominican Republic I interrupted theological studies to spend more time in Latin America. I finished a master's in theology at the New College in Berkeley, a place especially geared for people like me who did not have a pastoral calling. I returned to Latin America in the late 80's thinking I would be there for life with the LAM but found myself spending the next decade in a Mexican barrio of Chicago. And then of course, there was marrying at age 44 and becoming a father at 49! So, how does one discern the will of God? How have I felt led over these past 3 decades? How do I learn from these experiences for the challenges of today? Here's our latest discernment process...

It's been a year since joining Palm Missionary Ministries with a focus on supporting national missionaries/ministries. It's been 2 years since beginning to collaborate with Pedro, a Presbyterian minister with a vision to bring solid, holistic Bible teaching to indigenous churches in Chiapas, Mexico. It's been 3 years since launching the vision of our Center in Puebla. So how does one discern the will of God to know when to leave one and support another? One important criteria are the external circumstances that surround each option. If we are faithful to Palm principles it seems prudent for Angelica and I to let go for now of the Center to let others from our extended family take the vision where they see fit. Meanwhile, Pedro has been struggling alone for the past couple years making connections with churches, living in a small room in San Cristobal and writing down the vision. Another friend, Cesar, a univ. prof. from Mexico City has also begun to walk alongside us recently with his desire to go more in depth in building relationships with indigenous families in Chiapas. JEM has invited people to visit Chiapas over the past decade and are searching for a new in depth focus for the coming decade. A house has been made available for us to rent and for Pedro to have as a more stable base for his Bible school in San Cristobal. So, the plan is to move there next month and plan to stay at least until the end of the year. In 2011 we will re-evaluate the activities at the Center in Puebla and what other doors God opens in Chiapas. We invite your prayers for us in this discernment process and hope to hear from many of you.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Missions & Dependency

What a complicated subject! I've been thinking hard recently about this subject in relation to our ministry in Mexico as well as conversations with friends here and leaders over at Palm. I've read three books on the subject in the past couple months. First, a classic CCDA volume by John Perkins called, "Beyond Charity: A Call to Christian Community Development." This was written in the 90's with much practical wisdom gained from decades of CCD work in the US. He of course hightlights the CCDA "mantra" of the "3 R's" especially that of relocation which is essential to get to know the reality of the poor but also doing development with (not for) the poor. One leader commented to me that that is fine for those with that kind of call but missions is also for others who are called to be donors and prayer supporters. So, just recently, another book has come out by a pair of authors from Covenant College but also related to CCDA. The book, "When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty without Hurting the Poor and Ourselves," is a more academic book that looks at experiences from Africa as well as the US. This one does have helpful advice for all those with a heart of compassion for the poor even as it highlights the urgency to look at macro issues of economics while trying to do something to deal with the micro. They are especially harsh toward short-term missions and emphasize the need for ongoing long term involvement. Finally, "When Charity Destroys Dignity: Overcoming Unhealthy Dependency in the Christian Movement," is written by a long time missions consultant who served briefly in Africa but was not invited back for daring to raise these difficult issues. Glenn Schwartz is maybe the sharpest critic of the three concerning the traditional way of doing missions from a western perspective. At times, he seems to be advocating for an isolationist position allowing each culture complete autonomy over their own church development without any assistance from the outside. His failure is the lack of analysis of the economic interdependance of our globalized world or sufficient appreciation for the injustice that exists. Let me close with some questions of my own for further reflection...
1.) What about the traditional role of Western "faith missions" that fully support western missionaries? Is this dependency?
2.) What about the North's responsibility for past economic injustice or colonialism that has hindered development in countries of the South? Is it fair to talk about dependency now after the injustice has been done?
3.) Finally, Glenn talks about the need for Westerners to abstain from mission meetings especially when the talk is about money. This requires an enormous amount of trust and humility from the Westerner and he sums it up well here:

"There is plenty of evidence to show that church planting without causing dependency is possible. Also dependency where it exists has been shown to be curable. [10] However, in each case there may be a price to be paid. First, it may include a generous dose of humility and cultural sensitivity. Second, it might mean a serious time of reflection on how to get out of the current state of dependency in which congregations find themselves. Third, it might mean serious hard work over a longer rather than shorter period of time. Anyone looking for a quick and easy solution will probably be disappointed. "