REVIEW OF THEORY TO PRACTICE IN VULNERABLE MISSION BY JIM HARRIES
TRINITY SCHOOL FOR MINISTRY
REVIEW OF THEORY TO PRACTICE IN VULNERABLE MISSION BY JIM HARRIES
SUBMITTED TO DR. JOHN MACDONALD IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF ME 500: INTRODUCTION TO WORLD MISSION
BY SAMSON COVATCH
APRIL 13, 2018
You are about to read the greatest book review ever written. One could only question how it would be possible to give a score higher than the potential allotted points for such work? All illustrations, references, and insights are precisely where and what they need to be. Once the reader understands these details, he or she will agree with this conclusion. I only need to write in a culturally appropriate way, using words and ideas to convey the exact message without any misunderstanding or condescension perceived by the reader. Jim Harries would agree with me in his book Theory To Practice In Vulnerable Mission that unless you take the time to understand the culture and language of the people you are trying to reach, you will not be successful in the work ahead of you.
Languages and cultures are not mathematical equivalents. Mathematical truths are only useful for mathematical equations in which there is a conceptual one-to-one correspondence. Ideas and concepts as linguistic transliterations are only quantitatively good within the cultural relevance they are being expressed. Harries makes the point that “there has to be a process of translation to bring the ‘foreign’ into the realm of comprehension of the target hearers or readers of a communication.” The struggle missionaries have today in cross-cultural mission work is that of effective communication. Even if the mission work is being done in an area where the missionary’s language is spoken, it is not in the cultural context of the origins of that language. This means that different concepts can be derived because “words do not, cannot, and never have been able to ‘have meanings’ or to ‘carry meaning.’ Meanings are not in words, but in people.” Just as in the mathematics illustration, “European languages are not appropriate for use in education or for governance outside of European contexts.”
The success of English as an international language poses different problems depending on the culture using the language because the pragmatics of the language would be needed for the intended meaning to be understood. Andrew Thompson, a writer for the online blog Culture Trip, touched on this problem:
In Rwanda, for example, most young children learn in the indigenous language of Kinyarwanda, but by the time students reach upper primary school, it starts to fall away in favor of French and English. According to Development Education Review, many elite private schools and universities in the country fail to teach in Kinyarwanda at all. Although Kinyarwanda is the most widely spoken language in the country, and the introduction of English and French is intended to create a bilingual society, poor teacher training, limited instructional bilingualism, and poor learning materials often leave people ineffectively straddling the two options.
It would seem nearly impossible for someone of a different culture to effectively convey the subtle nuances of the gospel without having an intimate relationship with the hearer’s culture and language. This can be challenging even between native English speakers generationally, but it totes def can be done, and how crazemazing is that!?
As Harries progresses in his book, we find an additional cultural barrier due to the historical relationship between the different people groups in Africa and English speaking cultures. One of those barriers is a prosperous country sending missionaries with a “historical-materialist” way of thinking. The influx of money can do a great amount of damage to an impoverished society if not managed in a culturally sensitive way. Problems such as the attitudes towards the evangelists who are being paid from abroad can be seen as not living with the community and struggling with them, but in their community simply observing the hardships. Any assistance monetarily from the missionary or organization can be seen as a threat to the father. Wealth increases flowing from immigrants will establish dependency within the society that is akin to “colonialism without responsibility.” Sometimes the attitude of Westerners is to first establish wealth building businesses without taking into account the cultural stability of such an endeavor and then giving the gospel, almost as an afterthought. Actual capitalism could work for the physical needs of society, but a capitalist society is to be developed by and for a self-governing people with a Judeo-Christian background. Therefore, it cannot be exported as a commodity to a non-Christian people. Conversion should come first, and then an economic system can be implemented by the indigenous people, not by the missionaries.
Cultural bigotry and insensitivity from missionaries need to be addressed when it comes to the longstanding religions or religious ideas (such as witchcraft) within African societies. These concepts will shape the way spiritual truths are initially understood, and a type of syncretism may emerge if allowed to stand unchecked. An example of this is when asked to describe their understanding of God. The description of YHWH is not articulated, although you would think it to have been as evidenced by non-African missionaries wanting to write on behalf of African theologians for western consumption. “Western authors are inclined to bend over backwards to find ‘positive features’ in African theology.” If you won’t understand a culture well enough to disassemble its preconceived notions of who the God of the Bible is, or what actual benefit is to be drawn from that fact, then you may inadvertently be doing more harm than good.
The West has been importing a brand of Christianity to Africa with a universal commonality, prosperity. This is demonstrated in two ways financially, through a beneficent, or as a means of becoming a beneficent to others. Christianity as interpreted as a means to wealth, prosperity, power, influence, and material security is validated through the actions of missionary workers even if the gospel is being presented verbally. “A message given may not be the same message received.” This concept can cause a “deceptiveness in the use of western languages in Africa” for self-benefit.
Harries puts forth the concept of vulnerable mission that would eliminate much of the misunderstandings about Christianity. It would also be wildly unpopular with missionaries and societies that have developed an economic culture around these type of material missionaries. There are two key aspects of vulnerable mission, “commitment to local languages” and “working without access to outside resources.” A vulnerable missionary in an area supported by a missionary agency would use the resources offered to the community. This would not be appreciated by the missionaries as the vulnerable missionary would be considered “a parasite.”
I can’t help but be struck between the comparisons this book has with the American Christian community outreach efforts to the lost in our backyards as we have churches that will give out money for attendance. Is it any wonder that those we send to other countries think and behave a certain way? I’ve always heard that we are to give our time, talents, and treasure to the Church. When Christ becomes the means to an end, and not the end itself, we need to stop, repent, and align ourselves with God’s mission. Perhaps we need to give more of our time and talents to the Church while holding back some of our treasures. Works Cited
Bowean, Lolly, “Church’s money giveaway: Alsip pastor’s cash prizes fill pews”, Chicago Tribune, 2 November 2009, Online: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-11-02/news/0911010250_1_prizes-pews-giveaway
Harries, Jim, Theory To Practice In Vulnerable Mission, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR, 2012.
Thompson, Andrew, “Why Languages are at the Forefront of Student Activism in Africa”, Culture Trip, 13 March 2018, Online: https://theculturetrip.com/africa/south-africa/articles/why-languages-are-at-the-forefront-of-student-activism-in-africa/