Fair warning: Based on the conversations that have precipitated this post, I’m probably about to step on some toes. If it’s any solace, I stepped on my own first. If you’re going to jump me, do me a favor and at least read the whole post and the links first. J
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Go.
How? Where? Why?
I live at Belmont University. It is a school positively swimming in social activism, and the short-term mission trip culture is as alive here as anywhere. We even work it into some of our study abroad gigs. Half of my friends’ facebook pictures are of them holding a little brown baby (okay, so is mine…).
First, read this post by a family serving as long-term missionaries in Haiti, and take the time to read the many, many comments too. This lady put it so much more eloquently than I possibly could, and her comment section is littered with input from missionaries and aid workers all over the world.
I have been approached by dozens of people over the last three months who have heard about Kazembe and were curious, generally because they were thinking about running off to the third world for a couple weeks over the summer and wanted some advice and encouragement. I have inexpertly offered both. Here are my concerns:
The physical act of going, of removing yourself from one geographical location and placing yourself in another, does NOT in and of itself fulfill the Great Commission. Hopping a plane and going really far away does NOT inherently produce more for the kingdom than plucking up the courage to knock on your neighbor’s door.
I think the “where” and “how” are hugely important too. I know literally dozens of people here at Belmont that would absolutely love to spend some time in the third world for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are, I think, very good ones. But what would happen if I took all seventy of them to Kazembe for a summer? Amy could not possibly make enough chicken curry to feed us all. Let’s say for sake of argument that all of them are fluent in Khmer. Now it makes even less sense. Their gifts and abilities make them suited much more to serving in Cambodia. So maybe it wasn’t “wrong” of them to go, but they should have paid a little more attention to their GPS. At the same time, it would be kind of foolish for all 70 of them to descend on the same tiny Cambodian village as well.
(Note: To my knowledge, the Kazembe Orphanage has never had a volunteer who was fluent in Khmer, but if they have, there is definitely the possibility that person was exceptionally helpful and productive. Also, I use Kazembe as an example because that is my context, not because I suspect it is overrun with Cambodians...)
I’m not saying people shouldn’t go. I am saying that blind naivete can be dangerous and harmful.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Go.
How? Where? Why?
I live at Belmont University. It is a school positively swimming in social activism, and the short-term mission trip culture is as alive here as anywhere. We even work it into some of our study abroad gigs. Half of my friends’ facebook pictures are of them holding a little brown baby (okay, so is mine…).
First, read this post by a family serving as long-term missionaries in Haiti, and take the time to read the many, many comments too. This lady put it so much more eloquently than I possibly could, and her comment section is littered with input from missionaries and aid workers all over the world.
I have been approached by dozens of people over the last three months who have heard about Kazembe and were curious, generally because they were thinking about running off to the third world for a couple weeks over the summer and wanted some advice and encouragement. I have inexpertly offered both. Here are my concerns:
The physical act of going, of removing yourself from one geographical location and placing yourself in another, does NOT in and of itself fulfill the Great Commission. Hopping a plane and going really far away does NOT inherently produce more for the kingdom than plucking up the courage to knock on your neighbor’s door.
I think the “where” and “how” are hugely important too. I know literally dozens of people here at Belmont that would absolutely love to spend some time in the third world for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are, I think, very good ones. But what would happen if I took all seventy of them to Kazembe for a summer? Amy could not possibly make enough chicken curry to feed us all. Let’s say for sake of argument that all of them are fluent in Khmer. Now it makes even less sense. Their gifts and abilities make them suited much more to serving in Cambodia. So maybe it wasn’t “wrong” of them to go, but they should have paid a little more attention to their GPS. At the same time, it would be kind of foolish for all 70 of them to descend on the same tiny Cambodian village as well.
(Note: To my knowledge, the Kazembe Orphanage has never had a volunteer who was fluent in Khmer, but if they have, there is definitely the possibility that person was exceptionally helpful and productive. Also, I use Kazembe as an example because that is my context, not because I suspect it is overrun with Cambodians...)
I’m not saying people shouldn’t go. I am saying that blind naivete can be dangerous and harmful.
Honestly, I am struggling for words right now. I don’t know how to clearly articulate my frustrations. I’m not claiming to be innocent of the accusations leveled at STMs during my time in Zambia. I recognize that there might inevitably be some harm mixed with the good that is done with any mission trip, because any relationship has good and bad facets.
I’m not saying all short term mission trips are evil, because I don’t think they are. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do them right, because I don’t think it is. I fully intend to spend next summer in the African bush. In fact, I kind of plan to spend my forever in the African bush. But it would be foolish, selfish, and outright wrong of me to not be constantly considering what is best for those kids, even if it’s not necessarily what I want.
An orphanage should never have to turn a child away due to lack of funds.
I’m not saying all short term mission trips are evil, because I don’t think they are. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do them right, because I don’t think it is. I fully intend to spend next summer in the African bush. In fact, I kind of plan to spend my forever in the African bush. But it would be foolish, selfish, and outright wrong of me to not be constantly considering what is best for those kids, even if it’s not necessarily what I want.
An orphanage should never have to turn a child away due to lack of funds.
“We want hearts to be broken for the orphans, but never at the expense of the orphans.”
One of the most common rebuttals I hear when these concerns are expressed by myself or others is that if God wants people to go, then they will go. Therefore, anyone who ends up on the mission field in any capacity for any length of time is supposed to be there.
Methinks that is a rather poorly thought-out statement. I don’t believe that every little thing that happens is what God wanted to happen. For those of you reading from a Christian perspective, indulge me for a moment. The Bible clearly states that “God is not willing that any should perish.” And yet we believe that people do. Why? Because we have free will. We have the ability to make decisions. I believe that God will bring good out of every situation. That does not give us license to abdicate the very real responsibility of weighing our actions. Good intentions don’t guarantee good results. Sometimes you pray and pray and pray for something and don’t get a concrete answer falling out of heaven. At those times, I can’t help but think that God might be prodding us to just use our heads to make a wise decision rather than blaming our emotionally-driven decisions on Him.
I realize there is a very fine line between sending resources and sending bodies. Maybe part of finding that balance is to look at the needs of the place you intend to go to? Do they need teachers, or do they need schools? If they need both, what is the most efficient way to provide that? The terribly ironic truth is that churches and people seem much less willing to donate money that you intend to just send to an orphanage than they do to donate money that will send you to that orphanage. I live one block from one of the poorest places in Nashville. I wonder how many of the people who have approached me about Africa have walked down to 12th street.
One of the most common rebuttals I hear when these concerns are expressed by myself or others is that if God wants people to go, then they will go. Therefore, anyone who ends up on the mission field in any capacity for any length of time is supposed to be there.
Methinks that is a rather poorly thought-out statement. I don’t believe that every little thing that happens is what God wanted to happen. For those of you reading from a Christian perspective, indulge me for a moment. The Bible clearly states that “God is not willing that any should perish.” And yet we believe that people do. Why? Because we have free will. We have the ability to make decisions. I believe that God will bring good out of every situation. That does not give us license to abdicate the very real responsibility of weighing our actions. Good intentions don’t guarantee good results. Sometimes you pray and pray and pray for something and don’t get a concrete answer falling out of heaven. At those times, I can’t help but think that God might be prodding us to just use our heads to make a wise decision rather than blaming our emotionally-driven decisions on Him.
I realize there is a very fine line between sending resources and sending bodies. Maybe part of finding that balance is to look at the needs of the place you intend to go to? Do they need teachers, or do they need schools? If they need both, what is the most efficient way to provide that? The terribly ironic truth is that churches and people seem much less willing to donate money that you intend to just send to an orphanage than they do to donate money that will send you to that orphanage. I live one block from one of the poorest places in Nashville. I wonder how many of the people who have approached me about Africa have walked down to 12th street.
I haven't. That needs to change.
Because somewhere along the line, we elevated foreign missions to a status much greater than "neighbor missions." It's as though we are those in the Good Samaritan story who walked past the dying man, only we didn't have time to stop because we were on our way to catch a plane to the third world.
There’s also a dangerous flip-side to all of this. I also don’t think that the answer is for people to just fundraise nonchalantly and go about their merry lives, never encountering those in need in any real way.
Where’s the balance?
I don’t know. Maybe it starts with making sure that we can actually meet a need that would not be met without us in the place we’re gallivanting off to, or with realizing that there is so very much need right where we are. Maybe it is in remembering to offer a little grace to ourselves, because even the best thought out and well reasoned ministry in the world still falls short of perfection. Maybe it is in recognizing that if we are honest with ourselves, a massive part of the draw to STMs is purely selfish motivation (not to put it too harshly, but a commenter on the blog I linked to referred to it as “poverty porn”).
Let me just say that I am absolutely 100% still intending to spend next summer and my post-graduation life in Africa. I have asked these questions of myself, and I have done my best to adjust my attitudes and my actions accordingly. But here’s the thing: If I truly believed that not going, or that going in a different capacity or to a different place, was the best way to impact the Kingdom, I pray to sweet God in heaven that I would have the strength to act upon that realization, even if walking away from my kids shattered my heart with the force of the Hiroshima nuke.
Maybe I’m speaking out of turn. I don’t have all the answers. Please, feel free to chime in.
I feel like I’ve spent the better part of this blog backtracking and trying to explain what I’m NOT saying, so you really do need to read the link above if you haven’t already.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Visiting from another blog. As a misisonary mom, I just wanted to note how difficult it can be for those of us on the receiving end of all of this. Sometimes a volunteer wants to return, but their first visit was so nonproductive that we have to tell them no. Not becasue they couldnt have done some good but becasue they would be taking up a bed that a more effective volunteer could have. I have to do what is best for the kids.
ReplyDeleteYou're wrong. You can't just reason your way to everything. I will have trust in my God an have faith even if I only speak Khmer and he tells me to go to Africa. Sometimes faith doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #1: Some of my favorite people on the planet are missionary moms. Thanks for doing what you do. :)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #2: Forgive me if I gave the impression that I disvalue faith. Of course, sometimes God sends us in directions that don't make sense to us. Abraham "went without knowing where he was going." I know of a missionary family fluent in Spanish that ended up in India because they felt that was where God was sending them. But that's kind of my point: they went in response to a call, a prodding, whatever you want to call it. They didn't (to my knowledge...) leap off a mountain just to see if God would catch them. You can factor faith into your reason without ceasing to reason at all. :)