Missionary Exchange

I've been thinking about the phenomenon of sending out missionaries. As a Christian, I've come to believe that being a missionary is something that everyone is called to do; we're to be missionaries in whatever setting we find ourselves in - at the mall, in the grocery store, at the park, at home, and yes, in foreign countries.

The funny thing to me is what happens when we "send out" missionaries from our home congregations (from our local church) to ... somewhere else. I believe that this is something God encourages, but think about it; what happens when every local church starts to send out missionaries?

You start getting exchanges. For example, I started in Rochester, NY, America. But now I'm living in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. So I moved half-way around the world. Fair enough. But now, what happens if people from Melbourne (or Sydney, which is actually what prompted this little ramble) decide to be missionaries to America? I mean, America needs it just like any other nation, and I've heard of missionaries from Africa coming into the States to preach the gospel.

But seriously ... what's the purpose of essentially exchanging missionaries? Wouldn't it make more sense to just keep our own people within our own borders so they don't have to go learn a new language and culture and all that, so they can minister to their own people?

I think there is a reason. God doesn't seem to do things without reasons, and if He told some of us to go from place to place, I think there must be a reason. Here's my thought, and then I'll wait to see what we get from others: the exchange is necessary.

The cultural exchange helps us to see that the world is bigger than ourselves. It helps us to see that we are not alone, and it helps us to learn that God lives and works in all places. God is not static, He's very much dynamic and alive and busy! By working through culture shock and by learning new languages, we grow more humble. We learn that God works in all parts of the world, even when it looks like He's forgotten about a place (think Rwanda or India on this one).

Blogging 101

Blogger, also known as a blog, a weblog, or sometimes, a glogsot.

I love starting and being involved in discussions, especially when they turn philosophical or, as a pastor once called me, "heady." I like to think deep, outside the box, and hard. However, I noticed that most of the people who read my blogs don't comment on them. People, with regards to commenting, might fall into one of six categories:

1) You don't like me.

2) You don't like my writing. I sometimes agree.

3) You have much better things to do.

4) You want to comment but can't because of the settings on my blog.

5) You do comment, and I love you for that.

6) You do comment, but since reading this post, they're insulted and have decided not to comment anymore.

If you're in categories 1-3, please try to change yourself into someone in category 5. It is for those of you in category 4 that I write this post. I've set up my blog so that a person can't comment unless they're a member of blogger. I've done this for one reason only, and that is security: I'm sick of getting "spam" comments that don't really contribute to my discussion or anybody else's, but merely annoy us all.

You don't have to write in a blog in order to be a member (and therefore post comments), but you do have to sign up. Once you're a member, you can comment. Comments lead to discussion, and I'd really like to be able to foster discussion through my writing; it's why I write.

Rebekah

Since "The DaVinci Code" came out, there's been a lot of buzz on the internet, blogs, and in cafes about the role of women in society, in the Christian religion, etc. I'd love to talk about this, but I'm not much good on the subject, I only have my somewhat uninformed opinions. On a completely unrelated note, I read "Rebekah" this past week, a book by Orson Scott Card that takes the Biblical account and other sources to tell the story of Rebekah and Isaac.

I loved it. Aside from the fact that OS Card is an amazing author with a deep writing style and a profound grasp of his subject matter, I'm amazed at his grasp of the Christian faith (I know, I know, Rebekah was a Hebrew, but seriously, read the book and you'll see what I mean). Some six months ago I read another book of his called "Pastwatch", a book that also shows his grasp of what true Christianity looks like. You'll have to read it to see what I mean (most libraries should have it).

Anyway, I found this passage in Rebekah that I loved, and thought that I should share it.

"People don't understand what it means to be a Shepherd," Isaac said, "You aren't a master of the sheep. They're too stupid to have a master because they don't understand obedience - only imitation of the other sheep, and fear of predators. No, a shepherd is a servant of the sheep, protecting them, bringing them to food. And that's what we are to all our people ..."

I sit and wonder, where does this truth apply? Does it apply to missionaries? Does it apply to Christians in general (of course, if you know me, you know I don't believe there's a difference between the two). Does it apply to God and us as human beings? Is it totally bogus?

Discuss.