Pamela, there is much discussion and action across the Christian community in the US about mission. Just by looking at the numbers, the churches that are growing both in numbers and in commitment are the ones that are out there doing mission. And, one of the most exciting things that is happening that I see is the current crop of young people..those between 17 and 30 years of age, are all coming to the churches and asking….what are you doing that I can join in and help? For a good read about one vision of the missional church, read “The Great Awakening” by Jim Wallis.

I, too, have carried with me much of my life experience of mission in my childhood. And, to be honest, those memories have created a great deal of difficulty in my life. In short: my parents signed up to serve two years as teachers in what was then West Pakistan. We lived in Lahore from summer 1964 to summer 1966, when I was 6-8 years old. Now, my parents were steeped in the traditional Social Gospel, and we were affiliated with the missionaries who founded and taught at Foreman Christian College. I know for certain that the experience of those two years profoundly affected all of us. For me, even today, I have a deep respect for Islam, and have a very hard time with those who see all Moslems as terrorists.

From my experience, I have one fundamental statement: if you have young children, and you’re feeling the call to go ‘out there’ as a missionary….wait till your children are grown up, then go. You have no idea how this experience will affect them, but chances are, it won’t be good.

Thanks for sharing your story and for the book recommendation. I’ve been wanting to read something by Wallis for some time–maybe that would be a good place to start.

Although my parents weren’t missionaries, I had a childhood experience of living in a foreign land under very difficult conditions, and it certainly had a huge influence on me. Mostly, though, I think of it as a positive experience. Living on a tropical island with no paved roads, no air conditioning or stores or schools, no television, and so on and so on, I got a firsthand education in just how privileged and strange the American lifestyle is. I would not trade those two years for anything, including the really difficult parts. I know everyone’s experience is different, but it does work for some people.

Pamela,
When I hear of missionary two thoughts come to me. First it is not about teaching others but teaching one self. In having to explain one’s faith to others and responding to their challenges is where we have to dig deeper to understand our own faith and this is a path for personal spiritual growth. If those who do missionary work would understand this they would find their mission far more rewarding and also avoid causing so much misery to those they ostentiously start out to help with their overzealous attempts at conversion and disrupting local culture and customs.

Which brings up the other point. It is a bit ironic that you mentioned Hawaii and I wonder if its history is known by many in America today. Hawaii was a independent kingdom that some christian missionaries went to in the 18th century. But then the missionaries started raising cane sugar and then to preserve their economic position they conspired to have the US overthrow the kingdom and annex Hawaii. The most unfortunate point of this whole saga is that even today most of the indigent Hawaiians live in abject poverty on islands that were theirs. You can read all about it here. http://www.democracynow.org/2006/4/21/overthrow_americas_century_of_regime_change

The stories today of zealous groups going into asia and africa tell us that few people read history or heed its lessons. Most of the colonization of Africa was when european governments attacked to purportedly take revenge for killing of missionaries in some african state (who had undoubtedly gone beyond just telling of their faith). Going out and telling others about one’s faith is quite alright but please be aware of the tremendous damage done by those who were missionaries in the past and some even today

Khalid, I take your point and only want to make clear that my mention of Hawaii was not at all ironic but was meant to make reference to the very history of colonization you discuss in your response. It is because I am so aware of the damage done by “missionaries” that I have been wary of even the word “mission.” The post was meant to clarify that “mission” now has a very different meaning for me than those old notions.

That said, there is still need for caution, for respect and for mutuality, as you so rightly remind us. I might also want to argue that as much or more global cultural damage is done today by corporations than by church groups, but that would have to be the topic for another post. Still, you’ve stated your case clearly and compellingly. Thanks.

We have a group out of Pakistan called the Tablighi Jamaat (the Missionary Party) which at its inception had very noble ideals. The Qur’an states a number of times that we need to travel in the land. This has been understood to mean that we need to be exposed to a variety of things and thoughts to develop a mature understanding of our religion. That was really the basis for the Tablighi Jamaat. However, like all things, success spoils the ideals. Now they have so many zealots who are bent on ‘improving’ other muslims especially in the west and are causing a fair amount of havoc in mosques here and elsewhere. That is always the challenge in missionary work; i.e., being taken over by zealots.

Here in St Louis my wife and I have engaged in interfaith dialogue for the past 16 years. I like the root of the word dialogue meaning two logics that come together to create new meaning. Dialogue is about challenging (in a spirit of respect and learning) other ideas and recieving challenge to one’s own ideas. And, if one is motivated, it leads to study that gives one a much deeper and richer understanding of one’s own faith (and appreciation and respect for the other faiths). Dialogue can achieve many of the personal goals of missionary work. Of course the travel and living in unfamiliar lands and enduring hardship has a charm that cannot be matched.

As I have written before, I have great respect and admiration for the Episcopal church and many friends from this faith. The Episcopalians I know (and have known) certainly are always challenging their own personal position continuously to strive for deeper faith.

Khalid, thank you again! You have given wonderful examples in your response. I love the emphasis on “dialogue” when it comes to interfaith interactions. I agree that it is absolutely essential that one not engage in dialogue unless one is willing to be changed by it, maybe even converted in some sense. If one is only there to speak and not to listen, then it is not dialogue. Mutuality and respect are key. So bravo to all of those, like you, who intentionally engage in this hard and necessary work.

My sense of most of the mission that happens within the Episcopal Church, at least these days, is that it is quite a separate issue from interfaith dialogue let alone the old missionary models. To begin with, most of our “mission work” that I am aware of happens among other Christians. Maybe the best example I can give is our diocese’s recent mission trip to Sudan. Several missioners went to a place where we had already developed a relationship with other Anglicans in the Diocese of Lui. The purpose was in part to offer certain support & services that were needed, but it was more about building on our relationships there.

All the missioners I have known who have gone to Sudan have done so in a spirit of great mutuality and respect, and they report that they receive much more than they give. They go in search of their own transformation and change, not because they can “help” or change someone else. This is the spirit of mission that I see at work in our church, but of course we must remain alert to our own areas of blindness and hubris, as you suggest.

A good friend related a story told by the Bishop of Lui how when one time the soldiers from the north came and decided to execute all the men (soldiers were of muslim background while the men in Lui were mostly christian). The Bishop of Lui was among those lined up to be executed by a firing squad. He asked the soldiers, as a last request, to be allowed to make a prayer. They conceded this at which point he made a christian prayer that in language and form resembled closely some muslim prayers. The soldiers, who had only vague understanding of their own religion, hearing the prayer realized that this was people of faith they were going to kill and that killing them would not be good for them (in the hereafter. i.e., they may go to hell for doing this.) and so decided not to kill anyone. Trully a great example of judicious and powerful use of prayer.

Intrafaith activity that crosses cultural boundaries can also be very enriching. The main thing is to approach with a sense of learning. But I would caution that the path in search of truth can become very uncomfortable which is one of the major reasons people, at some point in their life, become rigid and close minded. It is always a danger when we go out of our circle of comfort.

An interesting conversation, to be sure. I tend to look at “mission” in it’s broadest sense. If I look at the parable of the Sower, for example, I see that ‘my’ job is to sow the seed. And, I can sow the seed in many ways. I do think, however, that it IS vital for the church to open it’s doors and send the people OUT.

Anybody remember the movie “Sister Act”? What happened when the sisters opened the cloister, took down the fence, and went out into the city? Many good things happened. And, it’s not just in the movies that good things happen in that way. I guarantee you, when you load up a work crew from your church and go somewhere for a week, it changes that group, and it starts changing the church. I’ve seen it happen.

After all, what is the first word of the Great Commission? “Go….”

Let me add that my negative view of my childhood experience in Mission had very little to do with the mission activities. We were in Lahore when the first ‘hot war’ started between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir, in the summer of 1965. An indelible memory of mine is being loaded into USAF C-130 transports to be taken to Tehran (a pretty safe place, at the time) until hostilities settled down.

hs, your comments made me think that the story about Tablighi Jamaat should be most instructive. But first, I was in Quetta and Rawalpindi during the period you describe but I am sure I have relatives who would remember your parents from FC College. Maybe another time we can compare notes.

What you write about going out of the church is good but the caution still stands and to describe that let me write here, in some detail, about the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ). I first met people from TJ in the mid ’80s in Arizona. 6 or 7 people from Pakistan on a walking trip of 7 western states over a 8 - 10 months period. Meeting them at a local mosque I was very intrigued because I could tell that most of them were from the poor peasant class who couldn’t earn even in 5 years enough to afford a airline ticket to USA. Where did they get the money and why were they doing this? I approached their leader, a relatively young man of about 35. We met later in the day and this is the story he told me. He talked of the great saint who started TJ. A lot earlier the saint was greatly disturbed by the weakness of the ummah (community) and wanted to do something to cure it so he started trying things. He went to a number of villages and got their brightest young boys and started a Imam school and trained the boys as Imams for five years. After which he said to the boys now go back to your villages and teach everyone correct islam. But when he visited those villages after some time nothing had changed and the imams he had trained had reverted back to the unislamic traditions of the villagers. The villagers did not change and the education of the Imams did not strengthen them. Then the saint went to a village where the people believed they were muslims but did not know anything about islam and what he did was take a handful of villagers and sent them to a town about a week’s travel away to live there for a few weeks. And over a period of a couple of years he made sure that all the villagers spent a few weeks away from their home. When the saint visited this village a few years later he found that the whole village had changed for the positive. So this became the template.

The young leader then told me that TJ had walking groups going to almost every country. And such is their reputation that they have no trouble getting visa’s. As for the financing, it was done entirely by the participants. Each of the people in his group had indentured himself for 7+ years of labor to get the money for this trip. His words have stayed with me ever since. He said ‘on this trip we have had to endure many hardships. Sometimes we have had to sleep on the snow. If you ask me is their any power on Earth that can force me to do this I will tell you there is no such power. But we are doing this for the pleasure of Allah.’He said ’sahib ji you make money and build yourself a wonderful house. We are building ourselves.’ They knew that their missionary efforts were mostly for themselves.

That was then. Things are much different now. Now the TJ live in apartments and get in a car and drive from St Louis to Chicago on the weekend and lecture other muslims on how they should behave and they work (manipulate?) to bring changes withing mosques to adhere to their view of Islam. And while those peasants in the 80’s were indeed very enlightened; today’s TJ are anything but.

I hope you understand my concern with ‘missionary’ work and how it can with time go far away from its initial goals.

Khalid, I would be willing to share my thoughts about that particular time and place with you. Would you be willing to post your email here for me to write you privately?

As far as the understanding that mission work changes the missionary as much or more than it changes those the missionary encounters…I get it. I don’t know (obviously, I was 6 years old) what my parents were like before that two year period. What I do know is that they taught me to enter any house of worship in quiet and respect, and to follow their customs to the best of my ability, without questioning. Even on vacations and sight-seeing excursions….entering a place of worship I’m always aware that I’m in a sacred space.