Question #1
Please respond by April 11, 2007
"The core of Christianity has shifted away from the Western world, therefore the role of the Western missionary is less relevant than before"
"We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God." -- John Stott
7 comments:
Oh man. I just got done typing my answer but it got erased as I registered for my account. Oh well...I'll type it again :)
It is definitely true that the center of Christianity has moved from the West. I do not believe, however, this makes the role of the Western missionary any less relevant. Inherent in the Gospel is the notion that it transcends culture, division, and geography. There is something absolutely beautiful about people ministering cross-culturally (for the example is Christ Himself, come from heaven to earth). While the Western role is not less relevant, it is certainly changing. It is far less glorified and domineering than before. Western missionaries now have the humble privilege of partnering with believers from all cultures of the earth, as well as recognizing God's equal love for all peoples. The role of the Western missionary is not diminishing, but it is expanding as the beautiful family of God grows and changes. Westerners must now embrace and partner with the Spirit as He moves in new and unfamiliar ways. What an exciting opportunity.
Although the Western missionary started in North America and Europe, and was mainly responsible for going out into the world, there isn't a lot of that anymore, because now we see that missionaries from other parts of the world are coming to us. And because of this, it may seem that the Westerner is no longer relevant; but I don't think that is the case. There are STILL, lost people out there that do need the influence of Christ, and the Western missionary doesn't have to go out, they can stay in their context, and minister to those around them. So I don't think relevance is the issue. I think just because things are changing all the time, doesn't make a Western missionary less relevant.
I completely disagree with this statement I think the role of western missionaries is more relevant and needed than it has ever been. Just because the rest of the world has stepped up to the plate and is taking action, it doesn’t mean we should back off. I think the role of the western missionary is changing since the responsibility of reaching other nations is now being shared more; however it is still necessary and relevant today. The role of missionary is changing; today the mission field needs to be wherever we are, whether that is in the heart of Africa or American suburbia. The western missionary is no longer one of only going to a foreign land to reach the “savages” but one of reaching all the nations and is as relevant today as it ever has been.
Great job on answering the questions. Concrete examples will make your points more valid. When you express an opinion, try to use an actual event or trend to illustrate it and back up what you are saying.
This troubles my spirit a little. I'm offended a little to think that we are not the influential Christian nation we once were. I know its true, its not hard to see that US culture has gone from bad to worse. It's funny to think that people are coming to evangelize us. (hahaha as if we are too good for that) We are not too goood for that its just that it has changed. It used to be angelican people going out into the nations but things are so different now. Saying that the Western Missionary is less relevant than before better not be saying that Western missionaries don't matter. They do. They will continue to positively affect the world. Its exciting to know that Jesus is moving so incredibly in other parts of the world. I think we can all partner together to further the Kingdom. We are all apart of one family of Christ.
MINE DELETED TOO.
UGHHH.
anyway.
The role of a Western missionary is always needed, as there always seems to be a shortage of missionaries of the gospel. Whether the missionary comes from Asia, Africa, or America, there is always a need for people to preach the good news. I think that this statement (about the irrelevancy of Western missionaries) is a reflection, unfortunately, of lost people’s distrust of Christianity because of the way our Church has reflected Him. (Even though this statement probably came from a Christian who was reflecting on the large numbers of Christians in the East versus the decline in the West, I’m going in a different direction because that statement is ridiculous.)
Not that we need to dissect the church and examine each of its wounds independently, but it is right that we have a spiritually healthy church to welcome people into. I think “cultural imperialism” is also an issue. Missionaries are stereotyped into the image of a conquistador or a person who brings the gospel PLUS his cultural bias, and tries to enforce his culture plus his religion on other countries. And we’ve seen postmodern reactions (now relativism is prevalent, whatever works for you is good for you, there is no universal truth) to missionary involvement because of the horrible things that people did in the name of Christ through out history. So, if the role of a Western missionary is to enforce his culture on someone – of course that’s not necessary because we have McDonalds to do that for us. But, if a Western missionary’s role is to bring Christ to people – a real gospel unhindered with cultural baggage – then that is always relevant. How does the Church combat the stereotypical consequences of it’s past mistakes – I think that answer is to accept people for who God made them to be. Accepting Christ does not mean buying a t-shirt or listening to certain musical bands or voting for one person over another…..it means living with the Holy Spirit and loving others and obediently living out a truthful example of a life consecrated to God…..
But I don’t need to preach this because I know each of you enough to know that you already understand this, which is why I am hopeful of the potential of God’s Church.
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