Volunteer Teams

In class the other day a group did a presentation on volunteer teams.  Like most things there are both pros and cons to volunteer teams.  It's cool that those who participate in volunteer teams get an experience in a new culture and can free the missionary to build relationships when they would normally be too busy to do so.  But sometimes I think we go in as volunteer teams with this mentality that we are doing something really great and really significant.  Don't get me wrong, I think volunteer teams can definitely have and impact on the people they serve, but I think it's important to realize that, in most cases, the organization with which we partner could carry on the activities without us; we aren't really needed.  The real impact is made through the long-term commitment of permanent missionaries who spend months and years building relationships and making disciples.  Being on a volunteer team is great.  But a lot of it is about the work God is doing in us rather than the work we do as a volunteer.

God Doesn't Belong in a Box

Sometimes we underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit.  When we plant churches we often believe that it will be a while before they can stand on their own and we put practices into place which sometimes make them dependent on the church or person who founded them.  We think they can't handle their own money or run their own programs.  But in doing this we are making church planting about our doing and underestimating the power of the Holy Spirit.

I think a lot of times we put God in a box.  We are certain that we can't accomplish the things we think He might be calling us to, and we are right.  We can't accomplish them.  But I think we also forget that we are never asked to accomplish them.  We are asked to follow Christ and let Him work through us.

It makes me think of the story of Esther.  Mordecai's response to her when she is faced with a decision that may cost her life is, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish."  God's plan will be carried out.  It could be by someone else, but it will happen.  The question isn't whether we can do it, the question is whether we will choose to follow God and allow Him to use us.

Learning

School is a good thing.  We learn a lot of things by studying and listening to the experiences of others, but there are some things we can only learn from experience.  When we go into our fields, wherever they may be, we have to remember that school doesn't teach us everything.  We have to be willing to sometimes put our education aside and accept that we know little about what we are doing and learn as we go, because education is not limited to what we learn in an institution.  And sometimes it also involves unlearning things we thought we knew.  Learning is something we will do all of our lives, and sometimes, it comes from the most unexpected of teachers.

The Gospel isn't Always Warm and Fuzzy

I think a lot of times we want to make the Gospel out to be warm and fuzzy all the time.  We like to think that we worship this God who wants life for us to be as easy as possible.  One of my favorites is when people take verses in the Bible out of context to make themselves feel better when things are difficult.

On of my favorites is Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"  This verse is often used as "proof" that God wants great things for us that don't involve too much suffering.  It's funny, though, because this verse was written to a people who died.  It wasn't written to the individuals as much as it was to the entire people, which, by the way, is kind of a foreign concept to us with our individualistic, western thinking that sometimes clouds our ability to really see what God is saying because it involves setting aside our individualistic mindsets, but we'll save that for another time.

But the reality is that the Gospel isn't always warm and fuzzy.  It's messy.  It involves suffering.  It always costs something, and sometimes everything.  And in our misconceptions of what the Gospel is we've done a lot of people a great injustice because they aren't informed of how difficult a life for Christ really is.  They think that having Christ means they will no longer suffer, they will have luxuries, they will be healthy and successful.  However, many times the opposite is quite true.  Being a disciple of Christ isn't easy.

Lifestyle Evangelism Vs. Preaching

A common debate currently has to do with lifestyle evangelism versus preaching the Gospel.  Some believe that the best way to evangelize is to live out the Gospel through lives of service and that words aren't really needed.  Others believe in telling the Gospel to all, but that telling them is enough.  Personally, I believe that both are needed; I don't think it's really a question of which one is better.  Escobar puts it nicely when he writes, "I believe that providing relief and service cannot be divorced from evangelism, because the world needs both their presence and their proclamation.  The test of missionary faithfulness to Jesus will not only be the practice of certain virtues and the embodiment of certain attitudes but also the proclamation of the name that makes them possible" (151).  Preaching the Gospel without also serving the people is not enough, nor is it enough to serve without proclaiming the name of Jesus.

The Gospel, Social Structures, and Responsibility

The Gospel not only changes people, but it also influences social structures.  Time and time again the Bible tells stories of those whose lives were transformed by Christ and, because of this, their families were changed.  When the Gospel touches a person so deeply, every relationship he or she has is affected.  When we believe deeply in the Gospel and truly let it transform us, we then begin to transform social structures and feel convicted to do something about unjust things.

In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller writes, "But the trouble with deep belief is that is costs something.  And there is something inside me, some selfish beast of a subtle thing that doesn't like the truth at all because it carries responsibility, and if I actually believe these things then I have to do something about them."  Being transformed by the Gospel does cost something.  Many stories of transformed people are followed by stories of sacrifice, but when we are truly transformed, when we possess this kind of deep belief, we become convicted to do something bigger than us.

Insights from Others

It used to be that missionaries came from the West to reach other parts of the world.  These other parts of the world were often less educated not only on the Gospel, but sometimes also in subjects like math, science, and literacy.  However, this has changed.  Many other parts of the world are now very educated in both school and the Gospel.  We are seeing insights from those in non-western cultures such as Africa, Latin America, Asia, and many other areas.  

Sometimes I think we as westerners think we know it all.  We still see ourselves as the ones who spread the Gospel and share our insights, not the ones who listen to the insights from other cultures and have the Gospel brought to us.  It's quite unfortunate because there's a lot we could learn from other cultures.