Written on the bus to O'Hare.
I told my Kenyan buddy, Harry, over coffee that I was going on a mission trip to Kenya. He was excited for me but a bit skeptical.
In the west missions has at times been paternalistic. We have been guilty of thinking of missions through our own nationalistic cultural framework. The gospel is "the Great White Hope” to be dispensed in western packaging.
Perhaps the most extreme example I heard of this recently is a group that went to Haiti for a week. "Saving Haiti!" their T shirts screamed as they exited the airport. A week later they were gone. Last I checked Haiti was not saved.
Missiologists tell us that the Spirit of God is growing the church quickest in the global south. Africa and Asia are exploding. Europe is almost in rigor mortis spiritually. The rest of the west is not far behind. We might be rich, but not in the things that really count.
This means the church worldwide has so much we can learn from each other. As westerners we go to learn and to serve and to partner with great humility. I am asking the Lord to grow and stretch and teach and inspire me on this trip as I see faithful Christians living out the gospel so faithfully in their often very difficult contexts.
When I told Harry that our team was going with Share International, a gospel-centered but holistic ministry started by Kenyan Sammy Murimi, Harry smiled. ”I know Sammy!" His concerns vanished.
In addition to going with an indigenous ministry, we'll be partnering with a team from a church in Nairobi. How cool is that! Two culturally different churches serving another subculture of Kenya with humility together in the cause of the gospel.
