Comments on: Lose Yourself: What is Your Identity? http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/lose-yourself-what-is-your-identity Everything a missionary isn't supposed to say. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:35:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: C. Holland http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/lose-yourself-what-is-your-identity/comment-page-1#comment-6383 C. Holland Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:57:09 +0000 http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/?p=801#comment-6383 @Karl: "unique missionary situation though, being in a country linguistically and culturally similar to the USA." Yes, and it's the similarity that is the problem. It appears that most of the missionaries who chafed at the change (and ended up leaving) had the mistaken impression that this is "America East" or "The 51st State": first-world standard of living, Anglo-ish looks of the people, English spoken. While I'm sure that Americans going to the 10/40 window have levels of assimilation to deal with, the change would be immediately obvious in comparison to their American lifestyle. Here it's more insidious, quite subtle, and if I hear one more American pastor tell me "We want to do a short term trip to [your field] because it's just like America so my people don't need to change how they act or learn about the culture," I'll have to scream. Thanks for the link to the book. I skimmed it and it looks great, going on the reading list today. :) @Josh: Thanks, sometimes it's more difficult than others. It's opened my eyes to assimilating wherever God places you, even if it's in your own hometown. I've had people say to me that they didn't think they could handle the changes in living in a foreign country; I think (for me) it would be harder to live in some parts of the States as those areas seem foreign to me! They would be so culturally different from my West Coast roots, yet for the sake of Christ I would do my best to assimilate if that's what He called me to do. @Karl: “unique missionary situation though, being in a country linguistically and culturally similar to the USA.” Yes, and it’s the similarity that is the problem. It appears that most of the missionaries who chafed at the change (and ended up leaving) had the mistaken impression that this is “America East” or “The 51st State”: first-world standard of living, Anglo-ish looks of the people, English spoken. While I’m sure that Americans going to the 10/40 window have levels of assimilation to deal with, the change would be immediately obvious in comparison to their American lifestyle. Here it’s more insidious, quite subtle, and if I hear one more American pastor tell me “We want to do a short term trip to [your field] because it’s just like America so my people don’t need to change how they act or learn about the culture,” I’ll have to scream.

Thanks for the link to the book. I skimmed it and it looks great, going on the reading list today. :)

@Josh: Thanks, sometimes it’s more difficult than others. It’s opened my eyes to assimilating wherever God places you, even if it’s in your own hometown. I’ve had people say to me that they didn’t think they could handle the changes in living in a foreign country; I think (for me) it would be harder to live in some parts of the States as those areas seem foreign to me! They would be so culturally different from my West Coast roots, yet for the sake of Christ I would do my best to assimilate if that’s what He called me to do.

]]> By: Tweets that mention New Post: Sometimes being a missionary means surrendering your identity. #missional #missions #Christian #Christianity -- Topsy.com http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/lose-yourself-what-is-your-identity/comment-page-1#comment-6377 Tweets that mention New Post: Sometimes being a missionary means surrendering your identity. #missional #missions #Christian #Christianity -- Topsy.com Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:32:43 +0000 http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/?p=801#comment-6377 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Desiring God Int'l, C. Holland. C. Holland said: New Post: Sometimes being a missionary means surrendering your identity. http://bit.ly/czoBbY #missional #missions #Christian #Christianity [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Desiring God Int'l, C. Holland. C. Holland said: New Post: Sometimes being a missionary means surrendering your identity. http://bit.ly/czoBbY #missional #missions #Christian #Christianity [...]

]]> By: Josh http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/lose-yourself-what-is-your-identity/comment-page-1#comment-6370 Josh Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:59:57 +0000 http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/?p=801#comment-6370 "All this has done is reinforce in me that first and foremost, my identity is in Christ and my citizenship is in Heaven" Amen!! While I may hold a USA Passport, who I am in not determined by the geopolitical nation in which I was born. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God and all my allegiance is to Him alone. On a more theological note, allow yourself to die to your culture and be reborn into another one so that God's glory will be made known. I know this is hard - shoot, I have struggled with it myself as I live/minister in a community that, while still in the USA, is different culturally than where I was raised. To have to do this overseas...well, may the Lord guide you and strengthen you! All glory to the Lord of Lords! .-= Josh´s last blog ..<a href="http://requisite_danger.bluecastle.us/2010/06/08/who%E2%80%99s-afraid-of-postmodernism-by-james-k-a-smith/" rel="nofollow">Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? By James K.A. Smith</a> =-. “All this has done is reinforce in me that first and foremost, my identity is in Christ and my citizenship is in Heaven”

Amen!! While I may hold a USA Passport, who I am in not determined by the geopolitical nation in which I was born. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God and all my allegiance is to Him alone.

On a more theological note, allow yourself to die to your culture and be reborn into another one so that God’s glory will be made known. I know this is hard – shoot, I have struggled with it myself as I live/minister in a community that, while still in the USA, is different culturally than where I was raised. To have to do this overseas…well, may the Lord guide you and strengthen you!

All glory to the Lord of Lords!
.-= Josh´s last blog ..Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? By James K.A. Smith =-.

]]> By: Karl Dahlfred http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/lose-yourself-what-is-your-identity/comment-page-1#comment-6364 Karl Dahlfred Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:36:02 +0000 http://www.missionaryconfidential.com/?p=801#comment-6364 I am intrigued by your comment on American missionaries who are determined not to lose any of their American-ness when they are living as missionaries in a foreign country. It sounds like you are in a rather unique missionary situation though, being in a country linguistically and culturally similar to the USA. However, for American (and other) missionaries going to Asia, Africa, and other places, it is expected that you aim to change your ways of doing things, and ways of speaking to fit in as best as possible with the people that they are trying to reach. In many missions circles, trying to preserve your ways of doing things on the mission field is perceived as imperialistic, paternalistic, or some other negative adjective. As a missionary in Thailand, I try to do things "the Thai way" to a fairly high degree although not everything that I do will be Thai because... well, I am not Thai. Try as I may, I am just me, shaped by where I was born and grown up. Becoming a missionary involves giving up many of one's rights that have been assumed in the home country. They are rights that we think we have but really they are culturally conditioned, rather than God-ordained. Mabel Williamson has a written an excellent book on this subject. You can read it at http://www.scribd.com/doc/2401457/Have-We-No-RightsA-frank-discussion-of-the-rights-of-missionaries-by-Williamson-Mabel I am intrigued by your comment on American missionaries who are determined not to lose any of their American-ness when they are living as missionaries in a foreign country. It sounds like you are in a rather unique missionary situation though, being in a country linguistically and culturally similar to the USA.

However, for American (and other) missionaries going to Asia, Africa, and other places, it is expected that you aim to change your ways of doing things, and ways of speaking to fit in as best as possible with the people that they are trying to reach. In many missions circles, trying to preserve your ways of doing things on the mission field is perceived as imperialistic, paternalistic, or some other negative adjective.

As a missionary in Thailand, I try to do things “the Thai way” to a fairly high degree although not everything that I do will be Thai because… well, I am not Thai. Try as I may, I am just me, shaped by where I was born and grown up.

Becoming a missionary involves giving up many of one’s rights that have been assumed in the home country. They are rights that we think we have but really they are culturally conditioned, rather than God-ordained. Mabel Williamson has a written an excellent book on this subject. You can read it at http://www.scribd.com/doc/2401457/Have-We-No-RightsA-frank-discussion-of-the-rights-of-missionaries-by-Williamson-Mabel

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