Missions needs to change...

I had the chance to listen to two aspiring missionaries last weekend. I love their heart and their passion but their choice scares me.

I know I am in the minority in evangelical circles (happily a growing minority) that really struggles with the concept of Western missionaries going to other countries to "spread the gospel."

I have had the good fortune of visiting many countries in the world. In my last job, I traveled throughout Africa, India, Russia, Haiti, Guatemala, etc. While I was doing this work, I read the book When Helping Hurts. The book has become a guidebook for me in my thoughts and philosophy about overseas missions.

Before I jump too deeply into my thoughts, I want to say that I do think that there are some situations that would merit Westerners going overseas. I'm not sure I could outline what I believe those situations are but I think it is important to leave the door open for any possibility.

All too often, we enter missions settings with a flawed mindset. We go prepared to give. Give our "brand" of faith, our mindset, our lifestyle, our values. I would contend for a situation in which we go to understand. What is the culture I am entering? How do they approach things like work, family, faith, etc?

If I go with an intent to understand, I am more able to learn how my faith or philosophy may be relevant to them. As a person of faith, my mission is not to make people more like me - it is to make people more like Him. Unfortunately, all too often, we have created God in our image and we end up exporting Western Christian philosophy and dogma as opposed to true Christianity.

I'll give you a quick story to try to illustrate the concept. I met with a prominent Chicago-based attorney who had worked for two years to pull together a project for a soy bean farm in Western Uganda. This project would provide sustainable jobs, income, and a "better" future for the people in the community.

My first question to him was, "What type of community buy-in do you have?" He had NONE. I asked who would run the farm. He assumed someone in the community would step up. I asked who would work at the farm. He assumed people in the community would. Afterall, he said, if you are 16 and unemployed in this community you need to have opportunities and money. I asked what someone in that community would do with money. He looked at me with a blank stare.

If you are a subsistance farmer, meeting all of your needs and you have the freedom and ability to do whatever you want and still meet your needs, why would you want a job? He had never considered that concept. He assumed that the concept of "opportunity' for a rural African would be the same as that for an American. Hmmm.

He had spent two years creating a elaborate plan for a soy bean farm and failed to consider whether or not it was something the community would even embrace. As the book When Helping Hurts suggests, there are millions of dollars of US funded farm equipment rusting away in Africa because no one bothered to consult the locals on whether or not they even wanted it.

Bring this concept full circle to the missionary experience, in most cases it is virtually impossible to take an outsider and have them truly understand the nuances of a culture that affect how they think, act, and believe. Not to mention the economic costs associated with supporting westerners in non-western cultures.

Despite our best notions, most mission efforts fail. Only 24% of missionarys "survive" the mission field. Most come back with destroyed relationships with God and family. In fact, the vast majority of Western support that is sent overseas does more long term harm than good. It creates a dependency culture and rather than creating sustainability it destroys it (unpopular for me to say - I know - but no less true).

A better plan would be to empower locals to reach each other. Perhaps Westerners could be part of a process of helping locals to educate their communities. But, that isn't as exciting as sending someone overseas...it's less romantic.

I am sure some of you reading this are shaking your head in disagreement - and that's ok. I encourage you to pick up When Helping Hurts - written by individuals with over 35 years of field missions experience and start looking at the reality. All that being said, if you "feel called" I would not tell you NOT to follow that calling. But, my hope is that you make sure you are clear on what you are being calling to do.

My hope is that the future of missions will be one that values outcome more than experience and that considers a broad range of what the long term implications will be of sending Westerners overseas. Either way, we are called to "go ye" we just need to figure out where and how.

Peace