That’s Just Different…

An American missionary visited a remote African tribe in the 1950's. The Tribal Leader was moved and felt called to the Lord. He asked what needed to be done to go to Heaven. The missionary told the Tribal Leader that he needed to repent and be baptized. The Tribal Leader asked of his sin and was then informed that he could not be married to three women and unless he leaves behind this sinful life, he could not be baptized, and could not receive the gifts of the Spirit. With a heavy heart, the Tribal Leader watched the missionary leave.

A year later, the missionary returned to the tribe. After a lesson, the Tribal Leader came forward and claimed his acceptance of Jesus and wanted to be baptized. The missionary was overjoyed and asked if the Tribal Leader had acted on the words of wisdom from his last visit.  The Tribal Leader exclaimed with great exuberance that he did and he now only had one wife! The missionary was so excited that the Tribal Leader could now become a baptized believer! Curiously, he then asked of the whereabouts of the former wives, the Tribal Leader told the missionary that he had killed them.

The American missionary came to bring good news, truly a noble and worthy thing; but failed to recognize how different the cultures were. In this particular tribe, plural marriage was a lesson in love and respect. The cultural reasoning behind this was in the event the first wife was barren, the husband could marry a second woman so she could bear children for his first wife. In this case, the second wife was also barren, so the Tribal Leader married a third time in order to have children to share among all three women. (This is actually a very Jewish concept.) When the Tribal Leader was informed he could only be baptized after he choose between the wives he loved and the Jesus the preacher spoke of, he was put in a tough spot. Divorcing two of them would be a life sentence of prostitution or slavery. So with love, the Tribal Leader killed them to keep them from a destitute life.

As part of our training for Africa, we discussed this very lesson so we could begin to see the world isn't based on American ideas and opinions. How can we reach the unreached if we don’t first adapt to the culture in which we serve? What good is it if the first thing we do is offend a culture who was taught their way of doing things is the only possible correct way, much like what we have been taught?  What happened when the Tribal Leader (from our story) begin to read the Old Testament story of Solomon, with 300 wives and 800 concubines, when he himself was not permitted to have only three beloved wives? Will the remainder of the tribe then come to believe that one must commit murder in order to become a Christian?

Unfortunately, the answer to bridging cultural gaps is very complex. For example, look at the way we Americans dress. We cover our breasts and are comfortable revealing our legs. In many African cultures, this is forbidden. The breasts are not sexual because they are used for feeding a baby; covering them only hinders the feeding process.  But the legs are part of the sexual beauty in a woman and thus covered in long dress. What if a visiting Western woman were to walk around in shorts, what impression will she give an African male? It would be one that says all Western women are sexually immoral simply because of their only experience with this one Western woman. Does it make their culture wrong and Americans right or does it make their culture right and ours wrong?

The basic awareness of cultural differences can be applied to just about any relationship, from different races, different nationalities, different Christian denominations, and even to different families. Each one has a micro-culture specific to them and will do things slightly different than another, and all of this is OK. 

"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:28

Does Paul say everyone must do everything the same? Certainly the Jewish culture was completely different than that of the Gentiles. Certainly some cultural changes had to happen in order to live more like Christ, but to completely act the same would be absurd. The important thing to remember is one is not better or worse than another, just different. 

Happiness is...

"...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

-Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776

HAPPINESS!!!

Here in Québec, Canada, we have a TV, but it only receives 1 channel. We never watch it (even if we did, at this point in our French learning we wouldn't understand much of it). When we returned to East Tennessee for our Christmas break, we watched TV for the first time in nearly 4 months. Even after this short amount of time, we found our perspective had changed. We weren't a big fan of commercials before, but now we realized at the heart of it, the only reason we were watching a program was because we paid them to tell us what we needed to buy so we could feel fulfilled and happy. Over and over, we were bombarded with the message that we should chase our own happiness with reckless abandon.

This is a big trap many people have fallen prey to (myself included); the trap is believing the world’s definition (more specifically the U.S. definition) of what it means to be happy or successful. My wife and I fell for this lie. At one point, we felt “successful” and we were, by the standards of many. We had a nice home, above average income, two cars, a big yard, a TV, a dishwasher, 2 dogs and so much stuff stored in the attic and basement that we didn't have any more room. And yet, happiness and contentment eluded us. God asked us to step away from our cushy jobs and re-evaluate where we placed our identity. Voilà! We wound up in international ministry.

One of the neat things about the journey into international missions is learning a new language.  Many phrases and idioms of one particular language translate-but with a slightly different twist.  An excellent example is the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.  In English, many versions read “blessed are the poor in spirit, mournful, meek, etc., etc.”  In French, however, it reads “happy are the poor in spirit, happy are those who mourn, the meek, etc.” Hmm. That’s different.  All in all, “happy” is mentioned roughly 30 times in the bible and only about half were about how to be happy.

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:12-13).  

 Don't miss understand me, there is absolutely nothing wrong  with pursuing the things so eloquently written in the Declaration of Independence. Indeed many times throughout the Bible material things are blessings from the Lord, it's even more OK to be thankful for them. Certainly the "Smack Chop" or "Sponge-wow" are great products that can make life easier, but realize that inanimate objects and certain life styles are not things to give us an identity. 

The world is desperately searching to find its identity, the meaning of life….It will continue to fail miserably so long as its identity is tied to possessions or a certain life style. I am afraid as the world seeks to finds its identity outside of Christ, the more we as Christians will be influenced to do the same. Happiness and fun are not our priority, Christ is our priority. Instead of searching for happiness, we must search to first and foremost "...seek first his kingdom an his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:24). 

What Is a Missionary, Part 1.

Jesus,The Missiona.......Evangelist

This blog has been in the works for a while. We would have an idea, write it down, file it away, wait a while, have an idea, write it down…. you get the idea.  Finally, we said ENOUGH-we need to post it (well, at least that is what Tasha said). We have about 10 more pages of notes, so this will end up being a multi-part post. Here is the first of what will be many rabbit trails. For those of you with A.D.D., you may be able to follow it better than others (Squirrel!!).

Typically at every presentation we do for MAF, we hear comments about great our “faith, courage, devotion (and sometimes insanity)” is as missionaries. Most of the time, these comments makes us squirm where we stand (with the exception of the insanity comment… that one pegs us pretty well). We do understand the Ministry Partnership process does require a certain amount of discussion about ourselves and what we are going to do once we get to the DRC, but this series will be an attempt to re-direct the warm fuzzies to where they need to go and really define what a missionary is or isn’t.

Did you know that in the Greek manuscripts, and at least the NIV, KJV, ESV, and NAS bibles (I have yet to check the billion other translations), the word missionary is never used? Not once?  The closest we see is in 2^nd Timothy 4:5 and Acts 21:8 referring to Timothy and Philip as Evangelists. Strong’s Concordance identifies an evangelist as one who brings good tidings. This sounds vaguely familiar to Jesus’ first speech to His Jewish brethren at the beginning of His ministry:

Jesus’ reading from Isaiah 61 said “the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” Luke 4:18-19  

Certainly Christ came to earth, lived, died and was raised to save us from our sins and ourselves, but His ministry was so much more than just that (although it is awfully hard to say “JUST” to such a powerful statement). He was talking about ultimate reconciliation, bringing a spiritual and physical renewal of life. But look even closer at the beginning.  Twice, Jesus mentioned more specifically why He was there: because “HE has anointed me” and “HE has sent me”.

While Jesus was praying before he was arrested John’s records more or less sum up the entire ministry of Jesus, profound words that are very easy to look over.

17:3…. “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” 

The first part is slightly unrelated to Jesus as a missionary but is still very cool. Heaven is not our goal of salvation, knowing the only true God is! Jesus also identified who sent Him.”

17:4 “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do”

This, I believe, is the basis for what we do as Christians who are sent (everyone is in some way sent but this is a later post). What can be better than bringing Glory and Honor to the One who through His loving kindness, redeems and re-establishes us in a Holy relationship with Him! “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to YOUR name give glory, because of your loving kindness, because of your truth. Psalm 115:1”