short-term missions: part 2

Copyright Josh Cooper 2008.
This is the second of five posts focusing on the legitimacy and beneficialness of short-term mission trips. This post focuses on STM's from an individual participant's perspective. To read the introduction to this series, click here.

Section Two – Individual Level
As we conducted the interviews for this paper, it became clear that the individuals that we interviewed felt that the most impactful aspect of a STMT, from an individual non-recipient perspective, was the spiritual formation that resulted from the experience. Therefore, as we begin this section of the paper, which explores how STMT are legitimate and beneficial from an individual non-recipient perspective, we would like to start by exploring how they can contribute to individual spiritual formation.

First, from the two interviews that we conducted, it seems that STMT can help an individual develop a greater humility and dependence on God and others. This was especially apparent in the first interview that we conducted. The gentleman interviewed told us that he originally did not think STMT were worthwhile endeavors. But, he decided to go on one when invited by a friend to partake in a STMT to Guatemala. His original intentions were, as he put it, self-centered. He thought that he would “go on the trip and show these Guatemalans a thing or two.” Also, he thought that going on a mission trip would look good to the congregation of his church.

While on this STMT he found that he was struck by how little the people that he was serving had materially. Yet they appreciated what they had and they truly appreciated the Gospel and the hope that it brought. This moved him to evaluate all that he had, whether material, spiritual, or relational. He came to realize that he had felt like he deserved all that he had-material things, his salvation, everything. Also, he came to realize that he did not deserve these things, but that they were gifts from God. Since that first STMT, his priorities have been much different. He feels that he now lives a life of much greater gratitude toward God. He feels that he now recognizes that he depends on God and those whom God brings into his life, for his physical and spiritual sustenance.

This same gentleman also mentioned that when someone finds themselves our of their usual they learn to depend more on God’s provision. He mentioned that in Guatemala, where he has spent most of time as part of mission teams, resources such as concrete, lumber, and other building supplies are not as readily available as they are in the United States. Thus, they have at times found themselves short-handed. However, he said that supplies almost always have a way of showing up. He feels that this is a result of the provision of God. In this way he feels that STMT help you to learn to be dependent on God.

The other gentleman that we interviewed also placed an emphasis on the importance of a humble, serving attitude while on STMT. He mentioned that sometimes people have a certain goal that they feel must be accomplished-a certain number of houses built, a certain number of people witnessed to, etc. However, he feels that one must be willing to “be available for what the Lord wants you to do,” no matter how grand or menial that task might be. We suspect this gentleman is naturally willing to do whatever is necessary, but he seemed to feel that STMT really drive this point home.

Another aspect of STMT that is legitimate and beneficial is the relationships that can develop out of this type of mission experience. The gentlemen that we interviewed both commented on how close the members of their STMT had grown, even though they were only together in the mission setting for a matter of days. In fact, one of the gentlemen said that he found it much easier to open up to his fellow mission workers than he did amongst fellow Christians at home, even though he had not known many of his fellow mission workers before embarking on the trip. Both gentlemen attributed this sense of connection with the other members of their STMT to the feeling of solidarity over the work that they were doing.

On STMTs, there is often a chance for the team members to develop relationships with people from the receiving culture. This is especially true when a group of workers can form a team with those from the receiving culture. Randy Friesen tells of a group of four Canadian university students who partnered with a group of four university students from Nairobi to witness to Massai families in Nairobi. As a result of the shared efforts of these students, the people of the village they worked in requested that another Christian come to live with them. Eventually, the village started a church and it now includes 300 members (Friesen, 2005). Undoubtedly the team members on this trip were able to develop some very significant cross-cultural relationships.

The gentlemen that we interviewed also saw the relationships that they formed with people of the receiving culture as significant. One of the gentlemen commented on how powerful it was to worship with the people who lived in the area that they were serving in. He felt enriched by the opportunity to worship in a different language and style than what he was accustomed to. He also commented on the genuineness of the worship. He felt that he learned something from the indigenous people and their joyful and genuine worship services.

This was a result that was highlighted in both of the interviews-learning from their relationships with the people they were serving. One of the gentlemen was moved by how little the people of Guatemala (where he was serving) have materially, yet they were seemingly happy. Now, this comment may betray how our culture influences us and convinces us that happiness comes through material wealth. However, a lesson was still learned and this gentleman now has a greater appreciation of how to live happily with or without material wealth.

Both gentlemen also felt that their STMT experiences helped them become more adept at working for the Kingdom here in their home context. One of the interviewees shared that he would have been reluctant to share his testimony with another American before he had gone on a STMT. While on STMT he has had opportunities to share his testimony without worrying about if the people would think him foolish. Presumably, he feels that the people of the cultures in which he served are less cynical than Americans, and thus he felt more comfortable. As a result he now feels more comfortable with sharing his testimony in whatever context he finds himself in. Therefore, working at identifying gifts for service seems to be a legitimate and beneficial aspect of STMT.

Lastly, we think it is important to note that cross-cultural STMT tend to help people view the world in a more global manner. In a scholarly study, Randy Friesen found that “cross-cultural short-term mission assignments have a significant lasting and positive impact on participants’ valuation of the global church when compared with the impact of domestic assignments” (Ibid.). In addition to STMT, team members having a better valuation of the global church, they also have the opportunity to learn about conditions in the majority world and begin to understand underlying causes of poverty (Dohn, 2006). Both men that were interviewed seemed to have a deep appreciation for Christians in other parts of the world. We feel that it is important for laypeople to have experiences that not only unite them with non-Western Christians, but cause them to view Christians from other cultures with respect. This is a big step in moving Western Christianity out of thinking that it is the most “Christian” culture in the world; and instead thinking of itself as one of many possible Christian cultures.

Pitfalls to Short-Term Mission Trips
Sometimes things that make STMT legitimate and beneficial can become pitfalls if they are pushed too far. For example, one of the gentlemen we interviewed commented that the people in the two-thirds world that he served in were all so happy, even though they had little in the way of material wealth. Maybe they were all very happy and maybe they were putting on a good face for the mission team in order to be courteous. Sometimes, when communication is difficult, a group of people will simply mirror another’s behavior in lieu of real communication and with the goal of being polite (Livermore, 2006). This kind of misunderstanding can lead to a significant number of people returning home and unintentionally misrepresenting the situation in another part of the world. This may affect how the mission team’s church supports upcoming missions or other projects in that part of the world. In any case, overgeneralizations and misunderstandings that come back with people from STMT are antithetical to the better global understanding that was named as one of the legitimate and beneficial aspects of STMT.

Another pitfall, from the individual perspective, is that an individual’s work, either singly or as part of a team, can be hindered and undermined by the fact that missions team members often fail to realize that Scripture and the Gospel story are often interpreted differently in different cultures (Ibid.). Thus, if a team is going as part of a teaching team, there can be much confusion over what is being taught. And, even work teams might run into some problems with differences in theology. Most likely this pitfall is most detrimental to those in a recipient position, but it can also lead to much frustration and confusion on the part of a missions team or a single short-term missionary.

Finally, one of the aspects of STMT that is most appealing to individuals can be one of their biggest fallacies of STMT and thus one of their biggest pitfalls. Many people value STMT for the spiritual formation that they provide or seem to provide. However, studies show that not long after the trip is over many people experience a waning of the spiritual high provided by STMT (Friesen, 2005). This of course is not always true as evidenced by the two men that interviewed. Each seems to have retained much of the growth experienced on their respective mission trips. However, it is important to note that individuals react differently to similar experiences. Some people truly internalize their significant mission experiences, while others enjoy them for awhile then allow these experiences to fade into nothing more than nice memories.

Summary
As with many aspects of the Christian life, STMT, as seen from an individual perspective, can or cannot serve as instruments of furthering the reign of God depending on the attitude of the individual or individuals going on the trip. Even though it seems that STMT can certainly be legitimately beneficial to individuals who go on them, are they missional? Do they function well as instruments in the in-breaking of the reign of God?

If the reign of God is seen as being able to continually break more fully into the lives of those who already count themselves as members of the Kingdom of God, then yes, STM trips can be effective instruments. Therefore deciding whether or not the reign of God can break more fully into the life of a missions team member depends on his or her attitude and receptiveness to what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in his or her life. If one embarks on such a trip with a desire to simply find a spiritual high, the results do not seem to be positive and long-lasting. But, if one goes on a STMT with the desire to serve the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to shape him or her as God sees fit, then it seems that the results are positive and enduring. Finally, we have noticed that if someone goes on a trip with rigid and incorrect preconceived notions about the people he or she will serve do not fair well, however, those who go with an open mind guided by love and respect grow as a result of the trip.

Trailer for Crossing Over

I've read books...I've seen documentaries...and I've been face to face with migrants who prepare to come to America, and....

I'm anxious to see the new Harrison Ford movie Crossing Over which is an encounter with immigration. The trailer looks good! And in the words of Daddy Warbucks, "We're off to the movies!" to see this one!



For more information on my trip to the Arizona-Mexico border, click here.

short-term missions: legitimate and beneficial???

Copyright Josh Cooper 2008.
This post is the beginning of a five part series exploring the legitimacy and beneficiality of short-term mission trips (STMTs). The following article was written by myself and three of my fellow seminarians for a course we are taking called Missional Church.

Section One – Introduction
Background
The concept of sending mission teams for short-term work has grown increasingly popular in U.S. congregations. People are not excited about sending their dollars off to faceless mission agencies; they want to become personally involved. Encouraged by the testimony of others who have had a life-changing experience in a Third World country, they want to "do mission" themselves (Jeffery, 2008).

This statement reflects a shift within the postmodern church that affects traditional ways of mission (long-term), and brings the popularity to other, new ways, especially short-term programs like mission trips. According to the literature, the number of North American short-term mission (STM) participants grew from 125,000 in 1989 to an estimated 1 to 4 million in 2003 (Ver Beek, 2006). At the congregational level, this is perhaps best called a “grassroots movement” in which pastors are expected to take a group of congregants oversees on these trips. Many churches today organize mission trips to fit around school and work schedules, holidays, and vacations. One survey found that two out of three people served for two weeks or less, the blocks of time fit within Spring Break, annual vacation time, holidays, and summer vacation (Priest et al., 2006).
Not only are congregations catching the short-term missions fever, pastors are also participating in greater numbers. In a 2004 survey of 120 M.Div. students enrolled at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), 62.5% of the respondents reported having been on mission trips outside the United States, and more than 97% of these students expect to participate in these trips in the future (Ibid).
According to the Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, the rapid growth of the STM movement is due in part to efficient travel that allows people to journey to anywhere in the world in relatively short time. However, despite the ease of travel there seems to be a growing desire to serve without committing to a long-term missions career. Though there is much discussion about the legitimacy and benefits of STM trips, “it is obvious that short-term missions is a powerful and effective force in the modern missions movement.”

Our Purpose
In light of the growing interest and practice of STMTs within the church of which each of us my soon take leadership roles, the authors of the present paper agreed to embark together on a learning experience surrounding this topic. Our purposes are three. First, our goal is to trace and evaluate the literature that critiques short-term mission trips as well as conduct our own interviews, in order to identify dominant views of what makes these trips “legitimate and beneficial” at the individual, congregational, denominational and international levels. Second, we will also reflect on the degree to which these views reflect, or not, an understanding of the church as “missional” as we are coming to understand it in the course: the church as called and sent by God to be God’s instrument in the in breaking of the reign of God. Third, we will also attempt to identify pitfalls of current approaches as well as articulate ways to avoid them.

Our Survey
In order to achieve our goals for this project, our team assembled a list of seven questions by which we asked all participants to respond. At the individual level, author CT asked men from his congregation to participate in this project. At the congregational level, our team surveyed 6 pastors / lay leaders who participate in STM trips on a regular basis. The pastors / leaders represent the Wesleyan and Baptist denomination from states which include, but are not limited to: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. At the denominational level, our team surveyed two denominational leaders from the Christian Reformed Church and two denominational leaders from the Reformed Church in America. Finally, at the international level, our team surveyed Thai Christians from several backgrounds: pastors, lay persons, seminary students and lay church members, most of them do ministry or attend a church in Bangkok, the most influential area of Christianity in Thailand. In this part of the study we desired specifically to understand the understanding of mission outside North-America since STMTs are taken not only in American, but indeed in the church worldwide, including the Thai church. In doing this, we hoped to expand our understanding of how STMTs are understood and carried out outside North-America. As noted above, our classmate Mee surveyed Christians in his home country, Thailand, where he feels the idea of mission and missiological theology have not been developed or emphasized generally in churches and seminaries.

Each of the participants at each level were asked to respond to the following questions:

1. Have you (your church, denomination) taken part in a short-term missions trip (STMT)? If so describe.
The purpose of this question was to give the respondents an opportunity to express freely themselves about short-term mission trips and to get a feel for what they think of them. We listened carefully for indicators of what they think the purpose for these trips is, and how they relate to the church’s mission, their own lives, etc.

2. What makes a STMTs, in general, “legitimate / beneficial”?
This question was more specific to our research question, what do they think either individually, or as a church or a denomination makes these trips “legitimate” in general?

3. Was your specific MTMT “legitimate / beneficial”? Why/why not?
This question was asked in order to get the respondents to reflect on their own (or their church’s, or their denomination’s) practice of STMT, whether they should be considered legitimate, and why or why not.

4. Since we have been talking about short-term mission trips, please define what you think the word “missions” means, for you (your church, your denomination).
This purpose of this question was to get the respondents to reflect on their idea of missions and a “missional church.”

5. Do you think that STMTs “fit” into this idea of “missions”?
This purpose of this question was to get the respondents to reflect on how their idea of STMTs fits in, or not, with their ideas of mission, and a missional church.

6. Are there any pit falls with STMTs?
This is the last part of our research question together with the next follow-up question.

7. How did you (your church, your denomination) avoid pit falls in the past, or how do you (your church, your denomination) avoid pit falls in the future?
A follow-up to question 6.


A Missional Expression?
For the purpose of ascertaining how short-term mission trips (STMT) are “legitimate” and “beneficial” as well as what pitfalls are associated with STM trips from a missional perspective, we will use this paper’s definition of what it means to be missional. Our definition of being missional is – being called and sent by God to be God’s instrument in the in-breaking of the reign of God.
As we talk about being called and sent by God, we recognize that our call, and the sending that relates to that call, is given by God, through the Holy Spirit. Thus, we are called and sent by the Holy Spirit and we depend upon the Holy Spirit to teach us how we are to be instruments in the in-breaking of the reign of God (Guder, 1998).
Charles Van Engen writes, “The Holy Spirit’s work always seems to surprise us, to stretch us to the limits of our normal expectations, and to point us in directions we have never considered before” (Van Engen, 2007). These words illustrate for us that being missional is not about our deciding what it means to be called and sent, rather it is about listening to where and how God is calling and sending us so that we might proclaim the in-breaking of his reign.
Thus, to be missional is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. To do so we must seek the direction of the Holy Spirit through prayer and discernment. “Only through prayer,” Van Engen continues, “do we prepare ourselves to examine our own motivations and goals in evangelism, and to appropriately participate with the Spirit in this wonderful adventure of being used to bring God’s presence to bear in the life of another” (Ibid). Though this statement has evangelism in mind, it illustrates how important it is for us to seek God’s will and the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer.
So, we are called and sent by God, through the Holy Spirit, to be God’s instrument in the in-breaking of the reign of God. To do so we must be prayerful and discerning what that specific calling and sending will look like. But, what are we looking for? What is mission? What types of activities are missional?
We are coming to see through this course that mission is any type of action by the body of Christ that bears witness to the hope that we have in the present and coming reign of God. Mission is eschatologically-grounded. Our hope as Christians ultimately rests in the fact that Christ will return and make all things new. Though the reign of God is not fully consummated, the Kingdom of Heaven, as announced by Christ, is already here even as we wait for Christ to return and complete the task of ushering in His reign of shalom. Also, as members of the Kingdom in this world, we are to point to this coming shalom through our present actions. Thus, mission is any activity that works toward bringing about shalom in the present, and thus bears witness to the shalom that is to come. We work at bringing temporal hope to the world so that the world might see the eternal hope that is brought about by the reign of God (Brueggemann, 2001).
To be missional then is to be called and sent by God as God’s instrument in the in-breaking of the reign of God. To be missional is to be called and sent by listening to the Holy Spirit and allowing ourselves to be used as instruments that bring hope to the world; hope that points to the consummating reign of God (Ibid).

Happy Healthy People

This is a video of my wife and brother-in-law, Jeff, singing a song called Happy Healthy People written to the tune of REM's Shiny Happy People. They performed the song for health and exercise awareness at the workplace. This song is now their theme song. (Notice the back-ups exercisers in the back!) This is the first performance of their major workplace tour which kicks off in Zeeland, MI and will be coming to a workplace near you!!!

Compassion International

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I went on a date. Now there's nothing unusual about this - though we both agree that we need to date more often! But nevertheless, it was a date night and she made the arrangements (so I give her all the credit!). She took me out to dinner at Via Maria, a nice little Italian place in Holland, followed by a Bebo Norman / MercyMe concert. I had my doubts - at least initially - about going to a MercyMe concert, but I kept an open mind and was pleasantly surprised, not by MercyMe as much as by Bebo. All I will say is WOW! Bebo put on a really good show.

The part of the night we celebrated, however, was that we decided to sponsor a child from Compassion International. We now sponsor a 6 year-old girl from the Philippines nameed, Camela. We are very excited about this opporutnity and look forward to watching her grow, learn, and love.

This is a wonderful opportunity to bring the love and compassion of God in to the world and there is no easier way than to sign up by clicking on the title of this post. If you're looking for a unique way to celebrate the holidays this year, why not go to Compassion International's website and sponsor a child?!? You will be just as blessed as the child you are blessing!

For the Beauty Chapter Four

In chapter four of For the Beauty of the Earth, Dr. B-P examines the connection between Scripture and ecology. Does a connection exist? If so, how? Or in what way? B-P affirms that the Bible is the norma normans - the ultimate norm which trumps all other authorities (ie., reason, tradition, experience, etc.). In the beginning of the chapter he attacks the use and abuse of Scripture citing times througout history where the Bible was used to justify slavery for example. He talks about the fact that we all read from somewhere - "there is no view from nowhere." "We read the Bible," Bernhard Anderson says, "where we are." I think this is an important point to remember when engaging Scripture - that we all have context and limitations in our understanding and the Bible often challenges our limitations and understandings. And Dr. B-P first addresses this question - where are we? - via Genesis 1. I will summarize below:

Where are we? "In a world of wonders, wisely order by God." We are in a world where "peace is primordial."

Where are we? "In a home we share with many other creatures."

Where are we? "On an earth not of our own making, blessed by God."

"In sum," B-P says, "this founding story [Genesis 1] affirms that God is a gracious homemaker and the earth is our home." God is a homemaker...I like that! God shows hospitality to a host of creatures including humans.

Just one more thing I'd like to touch on in this chapter and that is B-P asks the question, "With whom does God make a covenant?" The quick and dirty answer is US! Right? Well, yes God does make a covenant with humans, but God's covenant is not limited to humans. Turning to Genesis chapter 9, we are reminded that God establishes his covenant with Noah and his descendents and with every living creature, the birds, animals, and every animal of the earth (vv. 9-10). It is clear from these verses forward that God makes a covenant not only with Noah but with the earth and all it's creatures. "The covenant with Noah (6:18) includes every living creature." Let us never forget that God is concerned with His earth. Yes, we as human beings are important and loved by God, but God loves the earth too and has covenanted with it.

The Violence of Love

We have never preached violence,
except the violence of love,
which left Christ nailed to a cross,
the violence that we must each do to ourselves
to overcome our selfishness
and such cruel inequalities among us.

The violence we preach is not the violence of the sword,
the violence of hatred.
It is the violence of love,
of brotherhood,
the violence that wills to beat weapons
into sickles for work.

~Archbishop Oscar Romero, November 27, 1977

fpl viewer statistics

I was curious to know where y'all are from, so I installed a third-party tracking device on front porch life from Google, which can be found by clicking here. The Google analytic tool allows me to see which pages are getting the most hits; how long the average reader stays on my blog; as well as where the reader is from; as well as a host of other things. I installed this device on October 20th, so the stats that I'm presenting are from October 20-31, 2008.

1. 38 site visits in 11 days.

2. 6 was the highest number of visits on a particular day (October 29).

3. Average time on site - 1 minute 53 seconds. (My goal is to reach two minutes!!). Kidding...sort of!

4. Countries represented - U.S.; Switzerland; and Canada. So, thank you to my Swiss and Canandian friends. Of the U.S. visitors:
a. 22 visits from Michigan;
b. 3 visits from Iowa (thanks Mom and Dad!);
c. Other states represented - KY, PA, CA, OK, IN, IL, and MO.
d. Yes, the analytics tool even tells me which cities y'all are from, but that's it I swear. Okay, I have your addresses and phone numbers too! Just kidding! (Sort of!)

5. The two most frequently read articles - "JoAnn Lyon: A Woman of Hope" and "Green Bible is Here" had nine hits each. I suspect there are a number of people interested in learning more about JoAnn who is one of the General Superintendents of my denomination, and because there really isn't much information out about her, I think she'll continue to lead the most frequently read article list.