Theology of Mission

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I spent most of May in Chincha, Peru. When I talk to people about my ongoing work in Peru, I am often challenged about why I go at all. "What about needs closer to home?" I am often asked. "Isn't there plenty for the church to do here?"

The answer to that is "of course." There are more needs close to home than we will ever be able to meet. That's the nature of the world in which we live. But I also think there are very strong reasons for engaging in mission with the global church. Perhaps the main one is that, when you meet fellow Christians from other parts of the globe, wonderful relationships develop. I have one such relationship with the Rev. Pedro Uchuya in Peru, and I consider him a true spiritual mentor and brother in Christ.

But beyond that, there are some real reasons related to the nature of the church and the nature of salvation that call us to be in mission with our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. The church is a global body, after all, and it simply won't do to resort to some kind of localism (or nationalism) when it comes to the way we go about being in ministry. Just because there is a call to be in ministry in local communities does not mean that we can't also be in ministry with other parts of the world. For places like the United States that are particularly blessed with material resources, that is important to remember.

Another reason I think it's important to engage in mission is that doing so helps to move us outside of our cultural bubbles and into a mode where we are more open to being transformed by God's grace. Going far away from home, into a different cultural context where (oftentimes) a different langauge is spoken, can be a jarring experience. But it is in that very experience that we are opened up to the wonderful things God is doing in the church. Without our crutches of comfortability, we have to rely on God's grace - which, in reality, is all we've got anyway!

I write about moving "out of the bubble" through mission in my current column in the United Methodist Reporter. In the article, I reflect on why I think foreign mission is important with specific reference to my recent trip to Peru. I'd be curious to hear what you think about mission as well. And I would be interested to hear about your own mission trips (and larger missional relationships) and what you think is important about them. Peace ~ !