Isaac And Brittany .com

A new missionary movement
Missions has been founded on some false prepositions and ideas.
Mainly how do we face conditions and ways of doing things in a helpful way.
We have seen the colonizing type of missionary making small western worlds in Africa. Putting Africans in subjection to white culture as the answer to development. Meaning development must look western to be development. Obviously from the outside this is very ethnocentric but unfortunately the attitude still exists I think mainly because of the great difference in development between the first and third worlds giving westerners an aura of superiority and at the same time giving those in a third world an inferiority complex.
The second type is the aid based type of missions.
A very biblical need driven way of spreading the gospel. This type of missions is done all over the world providing food and other necessities to millions who need it. Many however do not even preach the gospel or disciple which is to be our real goal. We show Jesus' love in practical ways and then open up ways for them to know Him more.
One of the problems with this type of missions is that it creates dependency. An aid dependent culture has developed in many third world countries and it is very destructive and unhelpful in the long run. Organizations like the WFP and the UN are looking at ways to build sustainable ways of helping third world nations and this is very good.
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The kind of missions that I think is coming and that needs to come is not new. I heard about it first from the story of the Moravians who sold themselves into slavery to be missionaries the West Indies. To become a slave, a servant of all.
Most missions now is far from that, people are brought in to enforce western protocol and help 'advise' or oversee.
I believe that although this is good in the short term it has such a aura of colonial master, creates dependency, and also sets up something that isn't culturally sustainable.
Many of these nations are in fact very behind in development. Leadership styles have not evolved in understanding like in the west. Many nationals don't know how to handle money well or plan well. Lack of education and experience makes giving power to nationals seem foolish. The truth of the matter is that we are called to disciple nations, where they are at. We cannot make up for the fact that they have not learned something by doing it for them. We are to empower nationals to do what is in their heart for their nation, not force them to do what is in our heart for them. This takes patience and most importantly love.

If you are going to get married my job as the wedding planner isn't to tell you how your wedding should look, how big it should be, where it should be, how the ceremony should be carried out. That needs to come from the heart of the bride and groom. Or it will not feel like their wedding. Although as a wedding planner I have seen the most spectacular weddings in the most beautiful places with the most creative ceremonies. That experience is only good if you as the couple ask for my direction. If I force you to try and do something you don't want to I will either succeed and you will resent me or fail and and you will feel like I am judging the ideas that you want to institute in your wedding. Like I am judging your heart. This could make you feel untrusting of me and my heart towards you or else insecure about your own way of doing things and desires.
My job as a wedding planner is to ask the right questions and advise and help according to the desires of your heart. Its true that we in the west have for the most part, more experience, education, resources and opportunity. Those need to be used rightly. Our job like the wedding planner is to dig out the desires and vision of the hearts of the people and then to help them to flesh those things out. Their heart brought into reality in part by some who lay down their lives for them, to serve them.
This is a very good analogy of missions, its heart and its usual pitfalls. What if your wedding planner made you feel incompetent, came it and forced you to have the kind of wedding that he/she envisioned for you? The better kind of missions is being a wedding planner, empowering and preparing the bride of Christ for her Bridegroom!