Enjoying the Journey Together

EMQ » July – Oct 2024 » Volume 60 Issue 3

Photo by David Carillet, Adobe Stock.

Mutuality

Summary: The global missions movement has developed from the “West to the rest,” to wondering if any foreign missionaries were needed, to an “all hands on deck” approach. What we know, today, is that God’s global Commission requires a truly global mission force. We have different contributions to make, but we’re on the same team. Our best contributions come when we enjoy the journey together as equal partners.

By Steve Richardson

Modern global missions can be described, broadly speaking, in three general phases. There was a “West to the rest” phase where most pioneering missions work was led by Europeans and North Americans. Then, as the church in the Global South grew, there was a lot of talk about moratorium: We don’t need missionaries anymore. We can stand on our own two feet. That was probably a necessary and inevitable discussion. But we have largely arrived at a stage now, globally speaking, where it’s “all hands on deck.” God’s global Commission requires a truly global mission force.

Some time ago, my wife and I hosted Dr. Solomon Aryeetey in our home for a week. He is a medical doctor and a missions leader from Ghana, West Africa. Imagine for a moment if, at the end of the week, Dr. Solomon sat down and calculated the cost of his visit (groceries, utilities, transportation), added the median price for a hotel in our area, and presented me with a check.

I can picture the situation deteriorating in several ways. I could be offended at someone I considered a friend treating me like a landlord. Or, I could have insisted that as an American I was better able to afford the cost of the visit, which would have offended Dr. Solomon. Or, I could have disputed his calculations, insisting that we spent more on groceries than he allowed for, to which he might reply, “For that price I could have stayed in a hotel and had nicer towels.” None of those scenarios would have endeared us to each other. None of them represent mutuality in missions. Fortunately, none of them really happened. What it means to love one another as a global Church? I’ve observed six important mindsets that lead to greater mutuality in mission.

We Are One Family

The oneness of his Body was one of Jesus’s main concerns as he prayed for his sheep and the other sheep that would soon join the fold (John 17). All of us are descended from Adam, saved by grace by the second Adam. We are a family in a spiritual sense, which has some profound theological implications. We have the same Holy Spirit. We share the same Commission. And we will enjoy eternity together. There’s no getting away from the family of God!

That’s not to say we don’t have our differences. Those differences are opportunities to enrich one another. It can be tricky to distinguish between healthy iron-sharpening-iron-correctives and “friendly fire,” which has no place in the church. As a global Body, we have a spiritual immune system to help us discern what is acceptable, what is dangerous, and what issues simply aren’t worth fighting about. Our unity in Christ is preeminent over our differences. We’re fellow believers. Let’s start from there.

Key Question: In light of our family bond in Christ, what do we need to address together?

We Serve Together

No one part of the church is going to fulfill the Great Commission on its own. The plans of some organizations and denominations to evangelize the world have a noble dimension, but they can be tinged with a presumptuous flavor. God’s beautiful design for reaching the world involves millions of parts functioning together in harmony. Global missions ultimately boils down to us each doing our little part. A skilled musician can give a stirring solo, but it’s nothing like the power of a full symphony orchestra.

In the church, playing together requires mutual respect and submission – a servant heart and listening ears. This gets tricky because cross-culturally, submission and respect express themselves in different ways. We must be cautious about judging other people’s motivations. What is our brother or sister really saying? What is their heart? We need each other, and it’s a beautiful thing to serve each other.

Key Question: How might we go farther together if we each saw our role as complementing and empowering our brothers and sisters?

We Need Each Other

God has designed us with needs, both in terms of our own personal sanctification and our global mission. No one is self-sufficient, and we’re not supposed to be. Even the Apostle Paul didn’t see himself as being all-sufficient. Like Jesus, he almost always traveled with a band of people. It can be hard for us in the West, in particular, to realize that we need our brothers and sisters. We’re taught from infancy to be independent. My Indonesian friends were surprised when my wife and I put our first baby in her own room at night and let her cry. But an independent spirit, and even generosity, need to be carefully managed in the global church Body.

I once had a friend who always wanted to give, and never receive. It was a point of pride. And it started getting frustrating after a while. His refusal to ask for or accept help deprived me of the privilege of returning the favor. People don’t like to be indebted long-term. If Western Christians come off as always wanting to be generous and give without also exploring ways to learn and receive, it can block the fullness of the blessing over time. May we never be satisfied with a one-way transfer of information or resources. Body life is about fostering healthy interdependence, not independence or unhealthy reliance.

Key Questions: What does interdependence look like? In what ways do we need each other? How are we learning from each other?

We Steward Together

Finances are an important part of mutuality. They represent exchangeable portions of peoples’ time, expertise, and hard work – basically giving ourselves. The discipline of giving is incumbent on all believers commensurate with what God has given us. Good stewardship also involves reasonable accountability – transparency about standards and expectations.

As a global Church, we have an opportunity to apply scriptural principles of generosity and stewardship in ways that preserve one another’s dignity and individual responsibility. Trying to quantify our indebtedness to each other is an unhelpful game. Instead, let’s share our hearts in relationship. The Lord will stretch and grow us in the process.

Key Question: What do love, generosity, and stewardship look like as it relates to our finances in the context of the Great Commission?

We Forgive One Another

In the Gospels, we see that forgiveness is one of the hardest concepts for the disciples to wrap their minds around. “How many times should we forgive our brother?” they asked. “Seven times?” They thought they were being generous. Jesus shocked them with his answer: “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matt. 18:22).

Not forgiving makes us feel like we still have leverage over another person, punishing them by keeping their guilt alive. But it’s not our job to have leverage over people, having received grace ourselves. In trying to maintain that leverage, we’re not freeing ourselves from the power of whatever happened. We allow it to metastasize in our souls.

This applies on both a personal level and between groups of people. Unforgiveness short-circuits any opportunity for harmonic enjoyment and service. I find the concept of group culpability especially challenging. We, in the West, also tend to think in the short term, while some cultures have long memories.

Ethnic tensions or historic grievances can cast a shadow on individual relationships. Historical wrongs easily tip the scale when there are interpretive challenges in a relationship. How do I read what they said? Do I give them the benefit of the doubt or not? We must acknowledge the realities of history while working to break their cyclical influence by the power of the gospel.

What perceived wrongs, past or present, might be obstructing our sense of mutuality with our brothers and sisters? Let’s seek to understand and expose cancerous cells of resentment before they multiply. We find the ultimate example of forgiveness in Jesus on the cross and in his restoration of Peter who had disowned him. He offers us a power that is out of this world: forgiveness that releases both the forgiver and the forgiven from an otherwise suffocating cycle of guilt and recrimination. I think the Lord wants us to participate with him vicariously in the joy of forgiving people.

Key Question: In what ways do I or my family, organization, or other group I’m a part of need to forgive or be forgiven?

We Enjoy One Another

Global missions is not just about the work. It’s about koinonia – friendship and joy in the journey, side-by-side. Accomplishing things together is certainly important, but relationships aren’t simply a means to an end. One thing Westerners can learn from other cultures is how to just hang out and be friends.

In the Asian culture I grew up in, I’d be walking down the street and a local believing friend would sometimes grab my hand. We’d just walk the streets for a while, chatting. In Western missions, perhaps due to the gravity and urgency of the task as we see it, we can lose our sense of fun. Let’s make sure that our relationships aren’t only transactional, in the context of business meetings where we have an agenda and are watching the clock to make sure we finish in time to make our next appointment.

Key Question: How much do we enjoy cross-cultural friendships with our brothers and sisters and overflow with thanksgiving for them?

True Mutuality is like True Hospitality

Let’s come back for a moment to the story of Dr. Solomon’s visit. At the end of the week, instead of writing us a check, he did something much better. On his last day, he went grocery shopping, and then he spent an entire afternoon in our kitchen, preparing a feast of Ghanaian specialties. He mashed cassava to make fufu, stewed okra with delicious spices, and kneaded dough for bofrot. He filled our dining table and tucked some leftovers into our freezer to be enjoyed later. My wife and I savored every bite of the leisurely meal with Dr. Solomon, exchanging stories and enjoying the variety and abundance of God’s provision. It was an evening to remember!

On a basic level, true mutuality is like true hospitality. It is authentic, meaningful, sacrificial, and fun. Mutuality suggests a constructive or synergistic partnership of equals. We have different contributions to make. Different insights, talents, experiences, and gifts. But we’re on the same team. It’s a matter of discerning our best contributions to the common culture and mission of the global church and enjoying the journey together.

Steve Richardson (USD@orlandoteam.com) has served as president of Pioneers-USA since 1999. Previously he and his wife, Arlene, led a network of church planting teams in Southeast Asia. Steve was a missionary kid (read their family story in the book Peace Child) and is the author of Is the Commission Still Great? The Richardsons live in Orlando near their four daughters and fourteen grandchildren.