As part of a team at World Harvest Mission called the "Emerging Generations" team, I've always felt a small amount of discomfort. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I was never quite comfortable with the idea that we were going to London to "reach the emerging generations." I think Doug Pagitt put his finger on my discomfort. Sorry for being on a Pagitt kick tonight, but he's really speakin' to me.
Again, it's from Reimagining Spiritual Formation. He says "targeting is done by tobacco companies and snipers, and the one who is targeted is rarely appreciative."
That's it! I want to be able to talk freely about why I'm in London - not in code, not giving only half the story, but freely and openly, to the very people I'm "targeting". If I can't do that, maybe I need to rethink why I'm there!
I'm especially interested in feedback from my sisters and brothers in WHM. What do you guys think? How do you think about church-planting in a way that doesn't make us like snipers or tobacco companies?
4 comments:
Perhaps the people you are "targeting" would feel like they are only a "project" to you if they knew the reason you came to London. Not sure if I understand your question, but it seems to me, Jesus kept quiet about the reason He was here, for a long time. Built relationships. Gotta "chew" on your thought some more...
some free-flowing thoughts...
my new kick is that evangelism--esp when it comes to things like a missions lifestyle--is about how you smell. when you're 'targeting' someone, or being shady about explaining what exactly it is you're doing, it smells off. we're supposed to be the scent of Christ among the dead, not the scent of something rotten.
that being said, i think there's a certain amount of targeting that happens naturally. if i started a church, for example, and set it up with the style and content that i prefer, that church is naturally going to attract people who are more like me--who have the same needs, preferences, styles. i don't think there's anything that smells rotten about that, though i would think it's something that churches need to be careful of. (need to think about that some more--it gets into all sorts of racial, cultural, gender, generational sorts of stuff. it seems like there should be a certain amount of universality in the church.)
but another element of what you're talking about is understanding what it is you're communicating. in ireland there were all sorts of things we didn't want to say for cultural reasons--you use a term not understanding the cultural context and red flags fly, alarms go off and walls go up. does that mean you need to hide what you're doing? no, but it does mean you need to find a way to communicate it that is actually going to communicate to the people you're trying to communicate it to.
so the way you talk freely about what you're doing to a middle-aged american you're trying to get support out of is going to be different from the way you talk freely to a 20-something londoner who's highly skeptical of anything that smells faintly religious. i don't think it's talking in code or half-truths... i think it's just good communication.
some free-flowing thoughts...
my new kick is that evangelism--esp when it comes to things like a missions lifestyle--is about how you smell. when you're 'targeting' someone, or being shady about explaining what exactly it is you're doing, it smells off. we're supposed to be the scent of Christ among the dead, not the scent of something rotten.
that being said, i think there's a certain amount of targeting that happens naturally. if i started a church, for example, and set it up with the style and content that i prefer, that church is naturally going to attract people who are more like me--who have the same needs, preferences, styles. i don't think there's anything that smells rotten about that, though i would think it's something that churches need to be careful of. (need to think about that some more--it gets into all sorts of racial, cultural, gender, generational sorts of stuff. it seems like there should be a certain amount of universality in the church.)
but another element of what you're talking about is understanding what it is you're communicating. in ireland there were all sorts of things we didn't want to say for cultural reasons--you use a term not understanding the cultural context and red flags fly, alarms go off and walls go up. does that mean you need to hide what you're doing? no, but it does mean you need to find a way to communicate it that is actually going to communicate to the people you're trying to communicate it to.
so the way you talk freely about what you're doing to a middle-aged american you're trying to get support out of is going to be different from the way you talk freely to a 20-something londoner who's highly skeptical of anything that smells faintly religious. i don't think it's talking in code or half-truths... i think it's just good communication.
-mm
Dan here.
I like what you both said. i need to think more about the whole jesus waiting 30-some years to tell people why he was there, and even then, not really proclaiming it openly, even when people asked. combining what you both said, there is some practical application for me now: i need to learn London. learn the culture, so i know what kind of smell i'm giving off when i open my mouth (there's an image, if you're imagination is up for it). in other words, maybe be quiet about why i'm there until i know how to communicate it effectively in that culture.
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