Serving with Eyes Wide Open - Part IV
I’m in the middle of a book report on Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence by David A. Livermore. I got so much out of the book that I’m doing a “brain dump,” chapter by chapter, of my favorite take-aways. Today I’m continuing the section of the book titled, “Conflicting Images: Americans’ vs. Nationals’ Perspectives on Short-Term Missions.” Specifically, I’m pulling highlights from the chapter, “Urgency: Just Do It!”
- - “Seizing the moment and making a difference are compelling forces in our cross-cultural experiences. Clearly this can be a good thing, but just as often our desire to jump in and do something can reflect a human-centered approach to missions rather than a God-centered one. This chapter explores our American tendency to jump into the action and take chare of a situation. We’re not known for our reflection or four pausing to think through the long-term consequences of our actions. Let’s explore this tendency in us as Americans and as evangelicals and compare that with how Jesus approaches the issue of urgency and time.”
- “Urgency, taking chare, and making the most of every opportunity — it’s part of what in means to be American.”
- “The activist, urgent, ‘take-charge’ ethos of American culture is mirrored in the subculture of American evangelicalism. Pragmatism — doing whatever works in the most efficient way — rules the day in most American churches. Our inspiration and zeal overpower our ability to step back and engage in serious reflection. We struggle with a messiah complex that Jesus himself never had, and he was the Messiah!”
- “It’s hard to be missional without some degree of urgency. But when does our urgency go beyond a helpful, value-added component to what we’re doing through short-term missions?”
- “A sense of urgency clearly is something we must hold in tension. Value accompanies our urgency. Frankly, I think our ability to help develop plans for our dreams and others’ is one of the most value-added things we have to offer the global church, but we must do so carefully. It must happen in ways that are truly shaped by the national church that was there long before we arrived and will be there long after we leave. Most of all, we must not live as if God’s missio is somehow contingent upon our plans and strategies. God remains on the throwne and continues his redemptive work with or without our frantic sense of urgency.”
Speaking as a red-blooded American, I can say unequivocally that this is the big area that I struggle with…
Daily!
Time. Efficiency. Get the job done. These are the mantras that crowd my brain. But that’s simply not the way most of the world works. Nor is it the way Jesus operated (remember the Woman at the Well and countless other stories?). Sure, we need to have focus and instancy about reaching the world with the Good News, but God’s Will certainly does not depend on our business plan. Often times urgency causes us to miss opportunities to connect and form relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters from other parts of the world. Again, I’m speaking from experience!
What are your thoughts on “American urgency” in missions? Have you seen this mentality cost the American church in relationships formed with our host nation friends? And what’s the overall affect on short-term missions?
Stay tuned tomorrow for more on Serving with Eyes Wide Open. The topic: “Common Ground: ‘They Don’t Fly Planes in India When It Rains.’”
