I
know I haven't written about spiritual things in awhile. That's
mostly because I've been thinking about and researching the way the
Westernized church (read: the white church) has always done things,
and I've come to some conclusions that I know won't be popular. But
Christianity is supposed to be about truth, not popularity.
Therefore, I have a moral obligation to share these things.
The
issue I'm going to tackle in this post is mission work. I'm not
saying we shouldn't do it. But the WAY we do it needs serious work.
Mission work needs to be about people, not personal agendas. I
stumbled upon this article. It's entitled “10 Reasons Not to Become a Missionary".” In my experience, these seem to be the 10
most common reasons why people become missionaries.
After
learning about the national missionary movement through Gospel For
Asia, I'm convinced this is the way to go in most cases. Right now,
I wouldn't say I think we should NEVER send Western missionaries
overseas, but I do think it should be the last resort, not the first.
Christianity was never intended to be the “white man's religion.”
It's still perceived that way in countries that were colonized by
the US and Europe.
I'm
not going to elaborate on why national missionaries are the way to
go. The GFA website explains all that, and it's pretty simple. I
want to focus on the bigger question of why we aren't spending more
time, energy, and resources on national missionaries. I know there's
not a simple answer to that, but I want to share my theories, because
I've given this a lot of thought, and it's important.
We
have a savior complex here in the American church. We get it into
our heads that other countries have problems that only we have the
solutions to. Are we serious?! Wake up and smell the bullshit! We
have plenty of our own problems! Saving people is a job we are not
qualified for! Our job is to lead them to the only One who can save
them. And that can't happen until we buck up and put G-d and people
before our own selfishness.
