This picture sits on my desk top of my computer. I see it everyday and it makes me think about and pray for the people I met while on a trip to Malawi, Africa earlier this year.
That trip was huge for me.
Not only did it allow me and our church to be part of a new partnership working together to make a difference in one small corner of the world, but it also was a tremendous time of bonding with church members, making new friends with other Christians from both the US and in Africa, a shared adventure and spiritual experience for me and my son, together and perhaps most significantly, a greater sense of conviction that my role as a pastor includes leading the church and particularly my church to be, in the famous words of Tom Wright, “Jesus for the whole world."
Since I have been back I have been far more aware of the world, needs in the world, and especially the great need in Africa. I watched “Hotel Rwanda” with a sense of embarrassment and shame for how little I new of the tragedies of that time. I have read more about both globalization and global poverty, and have blogged more about poverty, the environment and involvement in larger experiences like the ONE campaign.
Interestingly for me, in the shadow of the discussion of the G8, Live 8 and the ONE campaign, a set of articles were posted by Christianity Today questioning the effectiveness of Short Term Missions. This is not only a topic of personal and pastoral interest, but also fitting topic for a mid-summer reflection. (An estimated 1-4 million North American Christians will take part in an STM during this season of school-free activity. According to the study nearly 30% of all teenagers will take part in an STM at least once in their lives, and 10% will be repeat short-term missionaries.)
And these articles are very challenging indeed. Because according to the study behind these articles, short-term missions they way they are currently led in most cases, are no more effective at furthering the work of Christ in the world than the average summer camp or a personal New Year’s Resolution. In short, they are a quick “spiritual high” that makes little difference in the life of a person, a congregation or the very people the mission trip sought to serve for the long haul.
That is, "the way they are currently led in most cases".
Over the next few posts I would like to take up some of the criticisms (the vast majority of which I agree with, by the way) and suggest some ways from the article that short-term mission can in fact be part of the long-term mission of Christ in the world in a genuinely life-transforming way. (I also want to make some connections to the conversation about Christian involvment in the ONE campaign and some of my broader concerns for the Church's calling to be the "provisional demonstration" of the Kingdom of heaven on earth. (Ambitious, yes....but we'll see.)
I hope some of you will indeed read the articles and chime in. But first, let me ask those of you out there who have been on STMs: What demonstrable difference did the experience make in your life?
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