photo credit: IMB.org
I don’t even remember who said it to me. But I remember, as we sat in my African living room, their sentiment as we discussed culture questions floating on the top of our minds: “It’s not wrong. It’s just different,” he repeated over and over.
This is probably not a bad default position, particularly for those of use who have very defined ideas of right and wrong (enneagram 1’s or one-wings, or C’s on the DiSC profile, this might be you).
One of our most popular posts ever kicked over some of the missions myths we’re all prone to: I should have the gift of evangelism. I should plan on leading Bible studies, prayer, service projects, and all that 24/7.
So we’re still messing with (or just scribbling out) some of our stereotypes of missionaries: the fetching jumpers-with-tennis-shoes combo, the slideshows, the mud huts, the untrimmed hairstyle, the image of white-person-hugging-cute-brown-child.
(Wanna help identify our weird stereotypes? Comment below.)
Hardest Places to Follow JesusThis week brought the alarming news of even more persecution of our Chinese brothers and sisters; The Guardian reports that alongside jailing pastors and closing churches, the Chinese government is releasing a new version of Scripture to establish a “correct understanding” of the text.
Whaaaat?
Photo credit: https://www.imb.org/image/indian-orphanage/
So we might already be tipping our hand a little here: We kind of like debunking myths about global work overseas, and maybe getting people to freak out of their box about what it looks like to go there, serve Him, love them.Maybe you think that your degree is sort of wasted when you choose global work–aside from the other intangibles that happen when you go to college, or the work experience you’ve been able to gain because of it.But in case you’re flirting with that idea–or even wholly convinced you got the wrong degree for what you actually ended up wanting to do with your life (only 27% of grads have jobs related to their major)–we might challenge that a bit. Because as my (Janel’s) mom is fond of saying, There are no wasted experiences in God’s economy. We’re guessing God actually knew, and had a considerable hand, in you getting that degree.But wait! There’s more!
You might actually be surprised at ways global workers are using their degrees around the world in missions.
So today, we’re homing in on a business degree. How can you use that?
Turns out the possibilities are pretty close to endless.
After our post on John Chau, we wanted to continue to update you as missions to unreached people groups captures headlines around the world. The New York Times offers more information on John Chau, recently killed in his attempt to evangelize India’s Sentinelese–and we also found this interview with Mary Ho, director of Chau’s sending organization, to be very helpful with some of the facts. Christianity Today also interviews two missiologists on whether Chau’s death will help or hurt missions in India.
I confess I was finishing up my Christmas list in a perfect fashion for a busy mom in a little mountain town: online only on Black Friday, while my kids shouted around the house. But when I went to check my email account, it was a headline that caused my heart to fall: A 26-year-old missionary from Vancouver, Washington, John Allen Chau, killed by bow and arrow on India’s Andaman islands in the Bay of Bengal.
“I hollered, ‘My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you’…You guys might think I’m crazy and all this, but I think it is worth it to declare Jesus to these people,” Chau wrote in his journal of his previous attempts, the UK Mirror and ABC News report. In one of his first attempts, one of the native children shot at Mr. Chau’s heart. The arrow skewered his waterproof Bible there instead.
I recently came across two opinion pieces – one old, one new – both written by atheists and both promoting the value of churches and religious organisations in international development.
Matthew Parris – columnist for The Times and “a confirmed atheist” – is convinced “Africa needs God,” and that Christian evangelism makes an “enormous contribution” to tackling poverty in developing countries. Duncan Green – strategic adviser for Oxfam and “a lifelong atheist” – asks “are grassroots faith organizations better at advocacy/making change happen?” and, after reviewing Tearfund’s report on their faith-based advocacy partnership with the Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Uganda, concludes that it is “powerful and convincing stuff.”