Oh, How I Relate...
11:43 AM Posted by Tim
I know probably most of you have seen this, but if you haven’t, its worth your time. This is a clip from the British version of “American Idol” a year or two ago, and a man named Paul Potts. Paul is a cell phone salesman, and apparently, an opera singer. What captures me each and every time I see this clip is the transparent insecurity of this man as he stands on stage, waiting for his music to begin. To me, his facial expression captures what my heart feels so often, although I have learned and conditioned myself to hide so very well over the years. I love watching the look of apprehension on the judges faces when Paul annonces that he is going to sing opera. Bad Ricky Martin impersonations would be an angelic offering compared to bad opera. But as the music starts, and Paul starts singing, the look of amazement on the judges face is magical. Even more miraculous is the transformation of Potts’ body language. His awkward, insecure stance at the beginning of the piece changes as the music rushes out of him. His posture changes, and towards the end of the clip, as audience members are leaping to their feet and judges are watching, mouths agape and in rapt attention, Paul stands, with his arms spread, his head tilted backwards and being just who he was meant to be. I relate so much to this. I crave being accepted and loved like this and truly, this is almost my tangible version of the prodigal son. I find myself thinking about how God will welcome me home one day, with that same applause. In the meantime, like Paul when the music ends, I struggle to find my sense of self, my confidence and my place in this world.
The New Face of Missions?
11:31 AM Posted by Tim
I watched an incredible presentation yesterday from this year’s TED Conference. It was presented by a guy named Willie Smits, an Indonesian conservationist, who was deeply moved by a moment walking through a marketplace in a town where someone tried to shove a dying orangutan baby in his face. He ended up rescuing the orangutan baby, and began to explain how the deforestation of the palms in order to provide biofuels for the Western world. I was at first skeptical, as I always am, with these “save the rainforest” type speeches. Do I believe that the rainforests need to be saved? Absolutely. Do I have any idea how? No, and really, my garden on Facebook doesn’t really count as a worthwhile effort on my part.
However, as with most TED talks (since I have rarely heard one that doesn’t intrigue me), I stuck it out. And I was deeply intrigued by Smits’ incredibly well thought out plan for saving the orangutans. His plan was to by 5,000 acres in a forest in Borneo and to create not only a wildlife sanctuary, but also a whole new way to approach everything related with this. While it would take twenty minutes just to capture some of what he said, the summary would be a meticulously thought out plan for caretaking of the earth, reforestation, creating biodiversity, a self-sustaining and self-propagating economy for the local people which creates local ownership, a wildlife habitat, and ecology center. The result is staggering. His center, with this meticulous reforestation and business plan, has directly contributed to everything from raising this part of Borneo from one of the poorest to one of the richest, increasing education, children’s health, increasing rainfall and restoring the natural balance of the earth, saving the orangutans, drastically decreasing crime, and the list goes on. It absolutely blew my mind.
And it got me thinking…
What if this could be the new face of missions? What if we leave behind the old models of going to people groups different than our own, with our spin of the Gospel to thrust upon then, while destroying their culture and without really giving them a practical day-to-day hope? I started thinking about how in the last century, missionaries went to these far off lands to “convert and save” the “lost.” Was this effective? In certain situations, absolutely. But I’ve always been unsettled at the cost of this, because “saving” them often seems like a process of assimilating them as well. In fact, there was a recent article on ABC News’ Nightline about YWAM (a great organization) and the conflict with the Brazilian government about how YWAM missionaries are contributing to the decline of the native customs and cultures. To be sure, some of this is good, I think, as I do not think infanticide is a good form of population control. However, we need to think long and hard about how we leave these people. Are we just throwing our holy hand grenades without providing for the tangible needs of these people?
Churches like Mars Hill in Michigan, with their XYZ Initiative and microfinance work in Burundi, organizations like Blood:Water:Mission and others are on to something. And I think that Smits is on to the same thing, although in a secular way. Maybe the best way to radically effect change in these people is to enter into their world as one of them. Maybe the new way to witness is not through street plays and the Jesus Film, but by analyzing the local economy and agriculture and empowering these people groups to find the courage to believe in themselves as having value and worth just how God created them, no longer selling themselves and their land to the Western world at the cost of their very lives for the cheap buck. Maybe, as we tap the Church’s rich resources of amazing people with expertise in agriculture, finance, public health, etc. with this multi-faceted approach, we can radically be changing the goal of missions from short-term to long-term investment in a community. I even have hopes that many of these same ideas might be applied domestically, not just internationally. Especially in such economic times, the need to minister to our literal neighbors is even greater. I think by showing that people have value and worth, and incorporating the message that this value and worth comes from a Creator that loves them how they are, we can really see the whole world change for the better.
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