Monday
Aug292011
Teaching Parrots to Talk (Thoughts on Cross-Cultural Discipleship)
Bernie Anderson
We're now entering our third month back from Home Assignment. I'm grateful the field has allowed us to settle in slowly. Our apartment is finally painted and mostly decorated. We're liking the 11th floor and getting used to the noise. Today the weather is cooling and hopefully our hot water will return sometime this week. We are now preparing for full ministry months ahead. I'm eager to get started with leaderhsip training and college student discipleship.
In preparation for resuming the challenging schedule of cross-cultural ministry (and in preparing the proposal for my Masters thesis at UNISA), I am re-reading what I would consider to be two of the most important books I've read on the subject of spirituality and cross-cultural work. Duane Elmer's Cross-Cultural Servanthood is one of the most convicting and challanging books, I've read on the issues of serving (I mean really serving ... like Jesus ... not just patronizing) another culture. The other book, I finished just this morning. It's a small volume by a South African missiology scholar named David J. Bosch entitled A Spirituality of the Road. It's also a challenging little book on maintaining a Biblical spirituality in the heat of cross cultural work. Yesterday, I read something from chapter 4 that brought me to a screeching squealing stop.
Jesus commanded us to make disciples. Making disciples is not teaching parrots to speak or (to use a different metaphore) learning to be a puppeteer. This is true when it come to disciple-making and leadership training in any context and in any culture, but become especially vital when working cross-culturally. I still feel very much at the bottom end of the learning curve, when it comes to cross-cultural work. But this, I know ... my attitude must be that of a learner. A student. A neophyte in Monoglian culture and understanding. A question asker, rather than being "the answer". Bosch tells of an educated and respected worker who was leaving a particular African field for Home Assignment. One of the national church leaders made this statement about him:
I don't want to always know. Particularly when it comes to leadership training, pastoral skills and the application of the Bible in Mongolia. If I "always know", my work becomes the mere impartation of knowledge, rather than the living out of Biblical grace and community with my Mongolian brothers and sisters in Christ. A fully trained disciple or leader must be able to do more than repeat words. The Gospel has no affect until it has been internalized, contextualized and lived. Together. Love and grace must be experienced along the road together, rather than through dispassionate classroom rhetoric that's copied and pasted into another life. Jesus is life and freedom and joy. Those are things are not understood in a classroom. It's on the road, together - and the proverbial "classroom" becomes daily life. Eating and drinking and laughing and crying. I suppose that's exactly what Jesus did with His "twelve". It's the pattern I'd also like to follow.
So, I am looking forward to working with Mongolian leaders and students this year. It will be a new year of challange and grace. However, my main objective is not to train parrots. I want to live and walk in grace and the Truth, and discover how to do that here with those God has called me to serve.
In preparation for resuming the challenging schedule of cross-cultural ministry (and in preparing the proposal for my Masters thesis at UNISA), I am re-reading what I would consider to be two of the most important books I've read on the subject of spirituality and cross-cultural work. Duane Elmer's Cross-Cultural Servanthood is one of the most convicting and challanging books, I've read on the issues of serving (I mean really serving ... like Jesus ... not just patronizing) another culture. The other book, I finished just this morning. It's a small volume by a South African missiology scholar named David J. Bosch entitled A Spirituality of the Road. It's also a challenging little book on maintaining a Biblical spirituality in the heat of cross cultural work. Yesterday, I read something from chapter 4 that brought me to a screeching squealing stop.
We so easily see our responsibility as disposed of when we have imparted the gospel to a people, established a younger church with it's own indigenous ministry, and taught them some Western administrative machinery. In all this, the emphasis is almost entirely on one-way communication ... We prescribe carefully prepared Gospel recipes. But - and this is the core of the problem - only rarely do we allow them to experience all this together with us.
The result, more often than not, is that we train parrots instead of building up people
Jesus commanded us to make disciples. Making disciples is not teaching parrots to speak or (to use a different metaphore) learning to be a puppeteer. This is true when it come to disciple-making and leadership training in any context and in any culture, but become especially vital when working cross-culturally. I still feel very much at the bottom end of the learning curve, when it comes to cross-cultural work. But this, I know ... my attitude must be that of a learner. A student. A neophyte in Monoglian culture and understanding. A question asker, rather than being "the answer". Bosch tells of an educated and respected worker who was leaving a particular African field for Home Assignment. One of the national church leaders made this statement about him:
What a pity. He's learned nothing while he's been with us. He always knew.
I don't want to always know. Particularly when it comes to leadership training, pastoral skills and the application of the Bible in Mongolia. If I "always know", my work becomes the mere impartation of knowledge, rather than the living out of Biblical grace and community with my Mongolian brothers and sisters in Christ. A fully trained disciple or leader must be able to do more than repeat words. The Gospel has no affect until it has been internalized, contextualized and lived. Together. Love and grace must be experienced along the road together, rather than through dispassionate classroom rhetoric that's copied and pasted into another life. Jesus is life and freedom and joy. Those are things are not understood in a classroom. It's on the road, together - and the proverbial "classroom" becomes daily life. Eating and drinking and laughing and crying. I suppose that's exactly what Jesus did with His "twelve". It's the pattern I'd also like to follow.
So, I am looking forward to working with Mongolian leaders and students this year. It will be a new year of challange and grace. However, my main objective is not to train parrots. I want to live and walk in grace and the Truth, and discover how to do that here with those God has called me to serve.
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord; with ourselves as your servants, for Jesus sake2 Corinthians 4:5
Reader Comments (4)
I knew there were good reasons why I like you Bernie Anderson. This may be the most important blog you have written in a while. Bosch was one of the very best, and still is one of my favorites. Just had his "Transforming Mission" translated into Macedonian (yes all 587 pages and no don't ask me how much it cost!!) and it is rocking our worlds here. Learn baby learn!! And hug your bride for me :-)
Awesome that book is translated into Macedonian ... I love it. That book has become somewhat of a guide for me (along with my Bible, of course) as to how we should be "doing" mission. I took a missiology course last year with "Transforming Mission" as the primary text. Big influencer for me... good to hear from you! I was thinking about you the other day when I had a hankering for some spicy Thai food...
Hi Bernie,
My husband found your blog, as our church in College Station, TX http://www.newlifecs.net is praying for people in Mongolia. I really enjoyed the video of your family, it was inspiring.I especially liked the comment your daughter made about why does God send anyone, anywhere to tell them about Jesus. It makes me want to pray that God might use us and send us out on the mission field, whether that might be here our abroad. Do you know anything about the 21 church leaders who were detained? http://www.persecution.org/2011/08/23/21-house-church-leaders-in-inner-mongolia-criminally-detained/
May the Lord richly bless you and your family, and bring many Mongolians to faith in Christ through you guys.
Hi Becky,
It sure is great to hear from you, and we so appreciate you connecting with us here. Please stay in touch, as we'd love to hear about your journey - whatever the Lord may have for you!
The incident above actually took place in China. Inner Mongolia is a supposed "autonomous" region that is culturally Mongolian ... but is controlled by the Chinese government. There are more Mongolians in inner Mongolia than here. We're in what has traditionally been called "Outer Mongolia" (you know, that place you threaten to send people should they misbehave? :), which is a truly autonomous region and the only (relatively) democratic society in Central Asia.
Thanks again for connecting with us! Grace...