Category: Living Like a Missionary in America Page 3 of 4

Imagine You Had to Write a Christmas Letter Like a Missionary

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On December 9, 2020

In Living Like a Missionary in America, Thoughts on Missions

Imagine you got this December newsletter from a missionary:

Hey friends!

It’s been a great year! We’re really thankful for the amazing vacation we took in Thailand. We also got to attend a really fantastic conference for the whole family in South Korea. We got to go skiing!

Our eldest daughter is excelling in soccer and hoping for a college scholarship, while our youngest continues to spend most of her time playing the violin. She even was invited to play in an elite quartet this year.

Please enjoy the attached pictures of our favorite furry friends, Max and Buddy, who bring our family so much joy!

Love,

Your missionaries

If we would feel uneasy reading this newsletter, we need to ask ourselves a few questions: Are we upset that these missionaries took nice vacations, bragged about their kids, or showed us pictures of something as mundane as their dogs? If so, why should missionaries be on such a higher spiritual plane that they aren’t allowed to write about these things? 

But that’s not my point today. I’ve written about that elsewhere.

The bigger concern with this newsletter–and rightly so–is that we expect missionaries to not just talk about vacations and kids and dogs, but to give some kind of report on their ministry. For people who have been called, sent, and supported, you expect to hear about how they are reaching people with the gospel. 

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Brokenhearted Joy

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On November 26, 2020

In Living Like a Missionary in America, Re-Entry to America

Johnny’s pretty confused, I think. He brought home all of his Thanksgiving paraphernalia from third grade–the placemat, the turkey hat, the turkey cookie. A worksheet asked, What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? “Pizza” was Johnny’s response. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Tanzania, of course. But it was never on a Thursday and there were no fall leaves or parades on television or feasts at school. Thanksgiving was just a normal school day and our mission team would celebrate it on Saturday or Sunday. We would eat traditional Thanksgiving foods, but I don’t know if Johnny picked up on that. After all, we met monthly with our mission team, so eating chicken and mashed potatoes in November probably didn’t stand out to him.

For several years, our team chipped in to buy a turkey, which cost over $100. We eventually gave up and in recent years, roasted a bunch of chickens instead. I would dutifully buy a giant Tanzanian pumpkin which had to be hacked open with a machete. Cooking down the pumpkin and making the crust from scratch was an all-day affair. 

This year, my eyes bugged out of my face when I saw turkeys on sale for $7.00. I resisted the temptation to announce it to the strangers around me, Did you see these turkey prices? This is incredible! I had to remind myself that this is normal for everyone, and I am working hard to avoid being weird. I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year so I didn’t need to buy a turkey, but I bought one anyway, just because I could. 

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I Am Guilty of Cancel Culture

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On November 19, 2020

In American Worldview, Living Like a Missionary in America

Here’s an interesting question: If it were possible, would you choose to have your political party to be the political party? Like, the majority in every state, in every election, for every candidate? 

Or how about this one: If it were possible, would you want every church to be a part of your denomination? So that every Christian ascribed to your doctrinal statement, worshipped like you do, had a building like yours?

There was a time when I would have enthusiastically answered Yes! My political position was the best for society. My denominational beliefs were the closest to Scripture. So for the good of all mankind, it would just make sense if everyone believed the same things as me. It might just usher in some kind of utopia.

In fact, I was so convinced of my rightness that I really wasn’t interested in hearing dissenting opinions. Reading something that opposed what I believed got me agitated, and, I would discover, even a bit hostile. It was easier to just shut those voices out of my life. I would take those blogs out of my feed. I would unfollow those people on Facebook. I would only read books that I knew I would agree with. I would avoid certain topics of discussion with certain people.

I was, essentially, canceling them.

Cancel culture is defined as “a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – either online on social media, in the real world, or both.” Since Christians and conservatives are often the ones who are canceled by the media and universities, we often feel the brunt of this blacklisting. But what I hadn’t considered is that I was guilty of doing the same thing.

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Ideas Are Always More Important Than Battles

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On October 22, 2020

In American Worldview, Living Like a Missionary in America, Race and Diversity

In 1865, soon after Lincoln’s assasination, anti-slavery Senator Charles Sumner wrote, “Ideas are always more important than battles.” The context was Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, which is now known as one of the most famous speeches of all time. 

Sumner said this:
“That speech, uttered at the field of Gettysburg…and now sanctified by the martyrdom of its author, is a monumental act. In the modesty of his nature he said ‘the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; but it can never forget what they did here.’ He was mistaken. The world at once noted what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech. Ideas are always more important than battles.”

This election feels like a battle. Both sides seek to kill and destroy. Friendships broken, people leaving churches, harsh words posted online that would never be spoken in person. 

I keep hearing the cry of, “But lives are at stake!” Ironically, both sides say this. Unfortunately neither side’s platform encompasses all the lives Christians should care about. Unborn lives. Black lives. Refugee lives. There’s also the environment, which Christians are commanded to steward well. Or the issue of poverty, where each side sees a different strategy (wealth redistribution or creation?). I see Christians drawing the line in the sand, hurling vicious accusations against the other, both sides decrying the other for being immoral, unChristian, uncaring. We are being forced to take a side, and in doing so, fracturing our values and our souls. 

We are faced with impossible choices in this election. No matter who wins, Christians lose something that should be important to them. No matter who wins, we will still have work to do. 

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I Get to Vote, but This Still Is Not My Country

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On October 19, 2020

In American Worldview, Living Like a Missionary in America

I lived as a foreigner through several election cycles in Tanzania. As a foreigner, that meant I had an opinion about elections, but I didn’t expect it to matter very much. I listened to Tanzanian friends give me their view on the candidates, but I stayed relatively objective. My goal was to understand their thoughts because I wanted to understand their hearts. I was there to reach people with the gospel, not get mired down in political arguments. My purpose there was to love all Tanzanians, not take sides. 

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