I just found this today and realized that I never published it. Throwback Thursday, indeed.
Often when people think of mission, they assume it relates to “doing something". Repairing a building or digging a well. The Presbyterian Church (USA) describes mission "in partnership" and it is guided by five principles: 1. Shared grace and thanksgiving. 2. Mutuality and interdependence. 3. Recognition and respect. 4. Open dialogue and transparency. 5. Sharing of Resources.
I recently attended a workshop on community development. That's the short of it, but as is typical in Indonesia, that's the tip of the iceberg. On the island of Sulawesi, a consortium of 9 churches is working together to discuss what they are doing for their communities, possibly to reduce replication and strengthen the efficacy of all their programs by developing a more unified, systematic methodology in response to a grant from Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS); a regional association of churches in South Germany.
Talk about partnership. It's beautiful to see how people work together, build relationships, communicate, laugh and plan. It is truly representative of the Body of Christ. It is global, international and overflowing with love and a sense of justice.
Upon arrival, I met the event coordinators assembled from the 9 churches. Later, I met the representatives from EMS. We had a brief, but refreshing, conversation about what they are doing, what the Presbyterian Church (USA) is doing and we lightly touched on some of the challenges.
As any Western Christian serving in a country that was once a colony of a Western country knows, once upon a time, the Church and the associated workers did not always act in the best interests of the people, but sometimes in collusion with the colonial government (intentionally or not, I might add). Of course, many mission workers rallied against imperialism and fought for the rights of the people they were sent to serve, but unfortunately, the residual impacts from when that did not happen are the obstacles that seem to pose some of the greatest challenges in the present time.
We in the US are proud of our “Protestant” background. “The Church reformed, always reforming”. ( Nice article from Patheos ) Christianity grew, developed, and evolved. I’m thinking this is a greater challenge in places where religion was planted in a very intentional, very “right” and “pure” way. Any deviation from the teachings of the “Mother Church” could cause problems; social, economic, governmental, etc. In other words, the ‘hermeneutic tradition” that I now know I always took for granted, may not have deep roots in all Christian communities. ( Hermeneutics )
For us, in partnership and patience, our focus is often not on creating, but on repairing the damage from a past which created too much; “top down” authority, exploitation, oppression, ill-fated “acculturation/assimilation”, out of context social/economic expectations. The Accra Confession, adopted by the delegates of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) (of which PC(USA) is a member church) describes some of the injustices that continue to have a negative impact today. ( Accra Confession PC(USA) )
Even though we know these things, it is difficult for Westerners to enter service with a knowledge base that is very implementation oriented; our culture requires that we "make things happen". But, we are not here to "get things done". We are not here to show people how to do things like "we do".
We are here to work WITH. To listen. To understand. To build friendships, relationships, to worship together...and to share resources. We learn, they learn, but it is through our actions and our love reflected through the power of partnership. It is not motivated by the need to "do” something.
In love, respect and humility, we still have a role to play in the world. We still need to be "out there", but we need to know that the times have changed. The context is different. We are all the Body of Christ. We are One. Our Body is healthier when it is nourished with love, understanding and real relationships. And the Body needs to be nourished so that it can grow, evolve and embrace. And the only thing that often "needs doing" is changing our attitude about that we need to "do".
Please pray for the people who humble themselves to work together, who see beyond denominational, ethnic, economic, cultural and linguistic differences, among other things, to build a healthy Body that is fortified by love, understanding and real relationships. We all have a place in that Body. Are you ready?
John 15:12-17
New International Version (NIV)
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
