This month we’re bringing you one mobilizer’s view on how the American church has come to be seen as “the Church that is against stuff,” and what it would look like if it were the other way around.

HELP, I'M A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT by Shane Bennett
Missions Catalyst Features 2/14/2007 (used with permission)

Identity theft. DUM duh dum DUM. It's the scary crime du jour.

Having not been a victim of identity theft, I probably overly downplay its significance. But I do suspect the Church, at least in the US—at least the evangelical Church in the US—may be suffering from identity theft on a grand scale. We seem to be "the Church that is against stuff." We are defined by what we oppose. Try this: Ask someone you don't know well to list the things that Christians are in favor of and the things they're against. I'll bet you your subscription price to Missions Catalyst that the second list is twice as long as the first. (Either way, if the person gives you a combined list with over five items, take them out for coffee and conversation. It might be enlightening.)

A quick ramble through the gospels seems to indicate that Jesus was for a lot more than he was against. Consider the early part of Mark's account. Jesus is for (among other things): announcing the kingdom, praying, casting out demons, healing mothers-in-law, forgiving sins, and hanging out with both stinky people (fishermen and lepers) and nice smelling ones (Pharisees and prostitutes).

At least as long as I can remember, we've had a long list of things we are against and things we don't do: We don't play cards, we don't dance, we don't listen to music with a "rock and roll beat," we don't drink, smoke, chew, or go with girls who do. Lately we've been against abortion, evolution, stem cell research, gay people, and both liberal politics and politicians. This is not to say that there is nothing we should be against. For instance, I'm solidly against abortion. The point is that we've been framed, rightly or wrongly, as "the people who are against stuff."

What would it be like if we were known for what we were for? It would be pretty cool. What would you like Christians to be known for? Here's my abbreviated list: Christians laugh and sing, kiss their wives, work hard, give fun gifts, and keep standing through disappointment and failure. They listen, throw decent parties, and tell interesting stories. They always seem to be making friends.

Assuming you are reading this because you're into missions, and considering anyone who's into missions as part of my tribe, can I ask you a favor? We, of all people, should be Christians who are for, rather than against. We are for the growth of God's kingdom, in which he is known, loved, and followed. We are for churches being all they can be, as well as the people who make them up. And we are for peoples and cultures becoming all God has in mind for them, living the best possible lives under his loving authority. So here's the favor: in the coming months, join me in asking God and looking around for ways to reframe the argument. Let's lead the way (if I can be that presumptuous) in returning to a Church that is for God's good purposes over and above one that is against the corruption of evil. If you need a shallow place to step in, how about this Friday inviting over some international students to play cards?

If you enjoyed this brief article and would like to see more like it, you may subscribe to the weekly Missions Catalyst e-zine by sending an email request to the editors at shanedar(at)gmail.com.

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STRANGERS IN THE LAND (1 PETER)
Being a stranger is not a lot of fun! It’s stressful, and it can bring out the best or the worst in us. You know what it feels like to have everyone looking at you, sizing you up. You are familiar with the sense that you simply don’t belong. It’s the experience of being a stranger.

I have been a stranger on a number of occasions—when I entered a new church as their pastor; when I moved into a new community; when I attended a New England town meeting for the first time. Even as I think through my list of experiences of being a stranger, I’m sure that I have not experienced this phenomenon to that degree that you have. Leaving your home country to enter a totally different culture thousands of miles away makes you a stranger. You know the feeling well. Your dance with the new culture might have a romantic “honeymoon” feel at first, but that feeling wears off, and it becomes more and more evident that you just don’t fit in. You are a stranger.

It’s interesting to note that “being a stranger” is a prominent theme in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew people were “strangers” as they made their way from Egypt to the land of Canaan. For over 40 years they wandered as strangers—crossing strange places, eating strange food, not really sure where the next day would take them. Many centuries later they would lose the Promised Land to the Assyrians and the Babylonians and be exiled to other lands where they would once again be strangers. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how this theme of being strangers is woven through the biblical narrative?

In his first letter Peter picks up on this theme of being a stranger. Peter is writing to people who are going through terrible suffering for their faith. He begins his letter by saying, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout” what is Turkey and probably Iraq today. These Christians were being persecuted for their faith and they felt like strangers. Those who had been their friends did not understand the change in them, and they heaped abuse on those who forsook the world for Christ (4:3-4). You know what that feels like. You have seen it happen to those you love.

The gospel calls people to abandon their “comfortable” fallen condition and step across the line to a “foreign” place where they will no longer “fit” with the culture at large. If I may say it, as we share the gospel you and I are inviting people to become strangers.

The Christians addressed in 1 Peter decided to live in obedience to the Word of God. Their obedience, evidenced through the moral and ethical underpinnings of their lives, created a sense of isolation from the world around them. Their faith bid them be strangers.

Why does Peter see us as strangers? In 1:1 Peter states that he is writing to people who are strangers because they have been chosen by God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and called to obedience through Jesus Christ. Look at what Peter is saying: the whole Godhead is involved. In other words, the character of God becomes more part of our identity than the character of the cultures and customs around us. We are chosen, set apart, and called to be obedient. And this makes us feel like strangers in our society today.

Would it be fair to say that contemporary Christianity does not seem to understand this much of the time? May I say that often our words and actions are motivated by a desire to not feel or be seen as a stranger? Do you think it also fair to say that our faith will never know the power that it is supposed to have as long as we are not willing to accept the role of stranger in this world? I believe this is the point of 1 Peter.

This is not a license to weird. It is not an excuse to be stupid or to create artificial ways to be different so that we are noticed. The point is, if you are a Christian, you are supposed to be different, and at times you will feel—and be treated—like a stranger in this world.

So, maybe feeling like a stranger is not all that bad. It can be a good reminder that “this world is not my home” and that I should not be surprised when I feel out of sync with the culture around me. And perhaps the reverse is also true—we should be concerned when we start to feel too much at home.

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“The deepest—and most subtle—temptation of our lives is wanting to be normal. Jesus calls us to a life that is not normal.” – Joseph “Skip” Ryan

Christians should live in the world, but not be filled with it. A ship lives in the water; but if the water gets into the ship, she goes to the bottom. So Christians may live in the world; but if the world gets into them, they sink. - D. L . Moody

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Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
by Muhhamad Yunus (1999, 2003 Public Affairs)
Reviewed by David Korb

If you have any interest in micro-financing, or want to learn more about a bottom-up approach to combating world poverty, this is an important book for you to read. In 2006, Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh received the Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” What began in the mid-70s with a simple $27 loan to a group of impoverished women later became the Grameen Bank, whose microcredit model has now spread to over 100 institutions in over 50 countries worldwide. Most of the Grameen Bank’s loans are to women, and since it was officially formed in 1983, there has been an astonishing repayment rate of over 98 percent.

When reading this book it is interesting to track Yunus’ formulation of policies as he felt his way forward by visiting with families, talking with those within his target group—the poorest of the poor—and making decisions based on his experiences. “The idea behind the Grameen Bank is ingeniously simple: extend credit to poor people and they will help themselves. This concept strikes at the root of poverty by specifically targeting the poorest of the poor, providing small loans to those unable to obtain credit from traditional banks” (from the Amazon.com review). It may surprise you to read that he does not require training or collateral before a loan may be secured. All the bank requires is that a person be desperately poor and have a reasonable business plan.

This is a fascinating book that is well-written and engaging. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in micro-finance.

Paradigms in Conflict: Ten Key Questions in Christian Missions Today
by David Hasselgrave (2006 Kregel Publications)
Reviewed by David Korb

Another great book! I’d consider Paradigms in Conflict a must read for those who want to grapple with the hard questions. Hesselgrave’s target is how the hard questions—and their answers—impact the way we go and the way we send others into global cross-cultural settings. The questions posed also impact the way we organize our own theological lives at home.

In this book, Hesselgrave wrestles with questions like, Where does God’s sovereignty and man’s free will begin and end? Are we free to say “No” to God? Did God limit His sovereignty by delegating certain authority to the moral beings He created? Is sickness the will of Satan and not the will of God? And what about Open Theism? Where does that fall in this mix? And the bottom line for missions: If God knows and has determined who will be saved, why go?

One topic Hesselgrave examines is “Restrictivism and Inclusivism.” Simply put, “If a man is stranded alone on an island from infancy until death and never hears the gospel of Jesus Christ, where will he spend eternity?”

And what about finding “common ground” with the lost person with whom we are seeking to share the gospel? Can “common ground” be found? Other discussions include “Incarnationalism and Representationalism” and “Power Encounter and Truth Encounter.”

If you pick up this book, be prepared to think. You will be challenged to add clarity to some of the positions you may not have thought through or have not revisited for a while. In recent years the church has been accused—and rightfully so—of “dumbing down” our faith and avoiding asking and answering the hard questions in a kind of “anti-intellectualism.” This book is a step in the right direction.

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