A city on a hill
Today the complexity of what Jason and Emily are doing began to sink in. After going out to a tourist resort by the lake for lunch Jason and I went to visit some of the leaders from the church whose building collapsed last month during the rains. Earlier Jason had explained to me the difference here between the good parts of town and the bad parts of town.
"Here if you live high on a hill you are poor because it is so much further from the water. The "rich" people live in the lower parts of town close to the water supply"
Of course this is completely opposite to some of the places I have lived like Colorado. The most expensive houses are higher up on the hill. As Jason and I drove to the church I could not help but notice we where climbing higher and higher. As we approached the church it was obvious we where entering a slum. Instantly I remembered what Jason said and this verse came to mind,
"you are to be a city on a hill"
Turning to Jason I asked, "so how do you tell the church they are to be a city on a hill if here that means God is calling them to abject poverty?"
"It makes it interesting doesn't it"
This has just been one of many cultural differences that make delivering the gospel so multifaceted here. Another is that it is very common to have multiple wives. In fact it is a status symbol here. If you are well off, you are expected to have many wives and many children. As you can imagine this lends to a delicate situation when churches choose elders. Remember the verse in Timothy about elders "they are to have but one wife". Jason said that many mainstream church dominations who have sent missionaries here actually teach that once a man is baptized he must send away his many wives. This creates two problems. First, there is only one job a woman can do in the village to support herself and it is prostitution. Second, sending away a wife means sending away "her" children as well (remember Abraham and Hagger?). To send away a wife means making her children illegitimate. Most often these children become orphans and street children. The best case is in this situation is that the mother sells her body to provide for all her children? All of this is done by well meaning but misguided missionaries.
That is what has been so impressive to me about the Mwanza team. They seem to be so focused on making a real, long term impact, in ways that seek to understand the culture. For centuries the Catholic church sent out missionaries to teach and convert. Unfortunately most taught and converted native peoples to a European style of thinking as well. You see it here with other mission agencies still. Several have adopted a "American" church mindset. They went to a prominent place in town, built a big and visible church, and tried to make Mwanza's first "megachurch". Can't we just drop our infatuation with megachurches? Jeezes.
That is why the team here is so focused on local churches. So far they have over 100 they are working with. Small, self supportive churches with local leaders and preachers. It is amazing how "different" this way of thinking is. Overall the complexity of their task has started to sink in. The underbelly of this trip is starting to show.
Another example is the aids crisis. Across Africa the "national" rate is 25%. That means every fourth person you meet most likely is caring the aids virus. Here in Mwanza the number is closer to 35% because it is a big city with a shipping port (sailors are no different in any country). Jason even knows some missionaries up north who keep records and calculate that in their region the average is about 70%!
Nothing is simple here. Nothing is easy. The gospel we know and take for granted has different meanings and connotations here. In America the message from popular "christian" books is "get rich, get healthy, be happy" here the message from the book is "be the poorest people in town". Overall I am surprised and humbled at the task set before Jason and Emily. The road they have chosen humbles me greatly, yet I know that their calling is no greater that the calling I received. Their call is no greater that the one being placed on you. Their call was to go around the world to East Africa, maybe yours is to go around your block. Maybe the father is slowly whispering to you to "get up, and get out" as well.
May you not fall into the trap of thinking that the call is only for distant lands. May you hear the voice of God gently (or not so gently) calling you to serve him. Wither it is at the gym, the office, the neighborhood, or East Africa, may you accept the call today.
"Here if you live high on a hill you are poor because it is so much further from the water. The "rich" people live in the lower parts of town close to the water supply"
Of course this is completely opposite to some of the places I have lived like Colorado. The most expensive houses are higher up on the hill. As Jason and I drove to the church I could not help but notice we where climbing higher and higher. As we approached the church it was obvious we where entering a slum. Instantly I remembered what Jason said and this verse came to mind,
"you are to be a city on a hill"
Turning to Jason I asked, "so how do you tell the church they are to be a city on a hill if here that means God is calling them to abject poverty?"
"It makes it interesting doesn't it"
This has just been one of many cultural differences that make delivering the gospel so multifaceted here. Another is that it is very common to have multiple wives. In fact it is a status symbol here. If you are well off, you are expected to have many wives and many children. As you can imagine this lends to a delicate situation when churches choose elders. Remember the verse in Timothy about elders "they are to have but one wife". Jason said that many mainstream church dominations who have sent missionaries here actually teach that once a man is baptized he must send away his many wives. This creates two problems. First, there is only one job a woman can do in the village to support herself and it is prostitution. Second, sending away a wife means sending away "her" children as well (remember Abraham and Hagger?). To send away a wife means making her children illegitimate. Most often these children become orphans and street children. The best case is in this situation is that the mother sells her body to provide for all her children? All of this is done by well meaning but misguided missionaries.
That is what has been so impressive to me about the Mwanza team. They seem to be so focused on making a real, long term impact, in ways that seek to understand the culture. For centuries the Catholic church sent out missionaries to teach and convert. Unfortunately most taught and converted native peoples to a European style of thinking as well. You see it here with other mission agencies still. Several have adopted a "American" church mindset. They went to a prominent place in town, built a big and visible church, and tried to make Mwanza's first "megachurch". Can't we just drop our infatuation with megachurches? Jeezes.
That is why the team here is so focused on local churches. So far they have over 100 they are working with. Small, self supportive churches with local leaders and preachers. It is amazing how "different" this way of thinking is. Overall the complexity of their task has started to sink in. The underbelly of this trip is starting to show.
Another example is the aids crisis. Across Africa the "national" rate is 25%. That means every fourth person you meet most likely is caring the aids virus. Here in Mwanza the number is closer to 35% because it is a big city with a shipping port (sailors are no different in any country). Jason even knows some missionaries up north who keep records and calculate that in their region the average is about 70%!
Nothing is simple here. Nothing is easy. The gospel we know and take for granted has different meanings and connotations here. In America the message from popular "christian" books is "get rich, get healthy, be happy" here the message from the book is "be the poorest people in town". Overall I am surprised and humbled at the task set before Jason and Emily. The road they have chosen humbles me greatly, yet I know that their calling is no greater that the calling I received. Their call is no greater that the one being placed on you. Their call was to go around the world to East Africa, maybe yours is to go around your block. Maybe the father is slowly whispering to you to "get up, and get out" as well.
May you not fall into the trap of thinking that the call is only for distant lands. May you hear the voice of God gently (or not so gently) calling you to serve him. Wither it is at the gym, the office, the neighborhood, or East Africa, may you accept the call today.
posted by Paul at Saturday, January 13, 2007
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