1947b Le monde non chretien. Nouvelle serie. A missiological quarterly 1953 "Quelques elements communs aux formes inferieures de la review, founded and edited by Maurice Leenhardt. Most issues religion," in M. Brillant and R. Aigrain, eds., Histoire desreligions, include leading notes, articles, and reviews from his pen. vol. 1, pp. 83--110. Paris: Quillet. 1949 "Preface" to Carnets de Lucien Levy-Bruhl. Paris: Presses Uni­ 1970 La structure de la personne en Melanesie. Milan: S.T.O.A. Edizioni. versitaires de France. English translation in L. Levy-Bruhl, The A revised edition of six essays, edited by H. J. Maxwell and C. Notebooks on PrimitiveMentality. New York, 1976. Rugafiori.

Writings about Maurice Leenhardt

1954 Hommage a Maurice Leenhardt, president de la Societe des Oceanistes toire de la Nouvelle Caledonie, Maurice Leenhardt," Revuefran­ 1955 (1878-1954). Off-print from Journal de la Societe des Oceanistes 10 caise d'histoire d'outre-mer 65 (1978): 236--52. (1954). Paris: Societe des Oceanistes. 1980 Dousset-Leenhardt, Roselene. La tete aux antipodes: Recit autobio­ 1955 Hommage aMaurice Leenhardt. Special issue of Lemonde non chreiien graphique. Paris: Editions Galilee. 9, no. 33 (1955). 1980 Masse, Jean. "Maurice Leenhardt: Une pedagogie liberatrice," 1959 Guiard, Jean. Destin d'une Eglise et d'un peuple, Noutelle-Caledonie Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses 60 (1980): 67-80. 1900-1959: Etudemonographique d'une oeuvre missionnaire protestante. 1980 Spindler, Marc. "L'ecclesiologie de Maurice Leenhardt," Jour­ Paris: Mouvement du Christianisme social. nal de la Societe des Oceanistes 36 (1980): 279-91. 1963 Spindler, Marc. "Maurice Leenhardt et Madagascar," Le monde 1982 Clifford, James. Person and.Myth: Maurice Leenhardt in theMelanesian non chreiien 17 (1963): 39-59. World. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press (Ph.D. dissertation, 1964 Gusdorf, Georges. "Situation de Maurice Leenhardt ou I'eth­ Harvard, 1977.) (Important bibliography, pp. 257-64). nologie francaise de Levy-Bruhl en Levi-Strauss," Le monde non 1982 Spindler, Marc. "La decouverte missiologique de l'Eglise chez chreiien 18 (1964): 139-92. Maurice Leenhardt," Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 36 (1982): 1977 Teisserenc, Pierre. "Sciences sociales, politique coloniale, strat­ 223--37. egies missionaires: Maurice Leenhardt en Nouvelle Caledonie," 1984 Dousset-Leenhardt, Roselene. A [leurde terre: Maurice Leenhardt en Recherches de science religieuse 65 (1977): 389-442. Nouoelle-Caledonie. Paris: L'Harmattan. 1978 Leenhardt, Raymond H. "Temoignage: une tournant de l'his­

Missions and Mammon: Six Theses

Jonathan J. Bonk

wo hundred years ago--when whatis sometimes referred significantly influential, but they are not absolutely determinative. T to as the "William Carey era" of missions was in its On the other hand, it would be foolish to imagine that Western infancy-the per-capita gross national products of the developed missionaries, no matter how disagreeable they may find the sel­ and the underdeveloped worlds were separated by a factor of fish excesses of their own society, can escape entirely from its less than two; by 1913, the ratio stood at 3 to 1, widening to 7 to influences. To borrow Trevor Verryn's apt metaphor, "[the 1 by 1970. 1 The gap continues to grow at an accelerating rate. Western missionary] cannot help but carry something of [the Western missionaries today constitute part of a rich elite West's] atmosphere with him, like the smell of stale cigarettes whose numbers, relative to the burgeoning populations of poor clinging to the clothes of a non-smoker who has been in a room around the world, constitute a steadily diminishing proportion full of people smoking.r" of the world's total population. Furthermore, the economic gulf In a more innocent age, it was possible for missionaries to separating the rich from the poor is widening, despite sincere but believe that their relatively comfortable way of life was the in­ essentially desultory efforts on the part of "developed" na­ evitable outcome of a national life organized in a Christian way, tions and "development" agencies to reverse the trend. and that, given enough time and sufficient conversions, the The missionary expression of the Western churches is deeply poorer peoples of the world would enjoy the good life. Not only affected by the press and pull of a social ethos that, if examined were Christianity and civilization inseparable but, in the sober closely, is seen to be shaped, inspired, and driven by consum­ judgment of some of the keenest Christian thinkers of that day, erism-the deep conviction that life consists in the abundance of no one could "become a Christian in the true sense of the possessions, especially more, better, up-to-date possessions. The term, however savage [one] may have been before, without be­ culture that shapes us, the laws that govern us, the education coming ... civilised."? that conditions us, and the institutions that employ us are all Sixteen years into the twentieth century, with the "civil­ ised" nations in the throes of one of the most bloody and pointless struggles in the pathetically war-strewn record of humankind, it was still bravely asserted that Jonathan J. Bonk, a Mennonite, is Chairperson of the Mission Studies Depart­ ment, Winnipeg Theological Seminary, Otterburne, Manitoba, Canada. The son The civilisation which is called Western is the slowly developed of missionary parents, hegrew up in Ethiopia, later returningthere to workwith product of religion.... [and has] surged forward to its present the Reliefand Rehabilitation arm of SIM International from 1974-76. Thethemes high water by means of the internal pressure of its inner Christian in thisessay aredeveloped furtherin hisforthcoming book, Money and Missions: elan, ... an impulse which is but the expression of a Christian The Role of Affluence in the Christian Missionary Enterprise from the West principle of life moving within." (Herald Press).

174 International Bulletin of Missionary Research We no longer believe this to be so. The West has been de­ Western missionaries, because of their affluence, inhabit an island mystified. We now know with terrifying certainty that, for most in a sea of poverty. Their affluence constitutes quite literally the of our fellow human beings, there is no possible road to our way "nonconducting material" that protects them from the of life in the foreseeable future. The stark and brutal truth is that "heat" and "sound" of the poverty in which the majority the natural resources of our planet are sufficient to support of the globe's inhabitants live and move and have their being. "civilised" life for only a tiny fraction of its human population. That insularity, which the privileged accept as their entitle­ Accordingly, emissaries of the Western churches must be pre­ ment, manifests itself in virtually ever facet of a Western mis­ pared as never before to test the truthfulness of their assertion sionary's life. Comfortable, well-furnished residences; closets that "Christ is the answer" in the context of personal material with several changes of clothing; cupboards stocked with a great want. variety of nutritious foods; medicine cabinets brimming with ef­ North American Protestant mission agencies reported a total ficacious prophylactics and drugs of various kinds; medical plans income of $1,356.3 million for 1985.5 Distributed among 764 agen­ to deal with a child's crooked teeth or a parent's failing kidney; cies represented by 67,200 overseas personnel," the money is used insurance policies providing for the well-being of loved ones in to finance a wide range of mission strategies, which, it is scarcely the event of an untimely emergency; registered retirement savings necessary to point out, require considerable financial and tech­ plans that, by taking careful thought of the morrow, are calculated nological support in order to implement and sustain. Schools, to assist the aged missionary in the final transition between this books, hospitals, autoclaves, X-ray machines, vehicles, radio and life and the next; the costly mobility-by means of personal motor television sending and receiving equipment, tractors, grain, air­ vehicles-to which every Westerner feels entitled; resources suf­ planes, cars, jeeps, trucks, well-drilling machines, computers, ficient for expensive local and international flights to whiska family scholarships, international conferences and consultations, and away from danger or to take a family on much-needed furlough; the myriad of other vital accoutrements of those mission strategies educational opportunities unmatched anywhere in the world for . originating in the West require a scale of affluence unavailable children; fun-filled, expensive vacations for the family; an abun- anywhere else in the world. Western mission strategies, beginning with the support of missionary personnel, are money-intensive. Without ample sup­ plies of money, missionary efforts from the West would be se­ verely truncated. Indeed, it is safe to conjecture, they would In exchange for personal virtually cease. affluence, Western The arguments in favor of Weste~n missionary affluence are missionaries sacrifice strong, sensible, and effective enough to persuade most of us that personal affluence, when appropriated and enjoyed with apostolic effectiveness and moderation, is-on economic, domestic, social, and strategic credibility. grounds-infinitely preferable to the alternative. The preference for more rather than less of this world's goods is universal. To my knowledge, there is no human society in which the young are deliberately enculturated to strive for personal destitution! dance of ingenious technological aids of various kinds, each de­ On the other hand, the price missionaries must pay for their vice promising and sometimes delivering efficiency in participation in affluence has never been higher. In exchange for accomplishing personal and professional ends. Such derivatives the comforts and efficiencies of personal affluence, Western mis­ of personal affluence constitute the "nonconducting material" sionaries sacrifice a measure of apostolic effectiveness and cred­ of which missionary insulation from the "heat" and ibility. But this pound of flesh is a mere scratch beside the loss of "sound" of poverty is fashioned. personal integrity that rich missionaries-c-as personal representa­ 2. The insular affluence of Western missionaries makes indepen­ tives of a Lord who became poor for our sakes-must inevitably dence possible, segregation necessary, and isolation from the poor una­ suffer. This "hidden" cost may be expressed by means of six voidable. "Independence" is the state of being free from the theses. control of another. "Segregation" is the practice of creating 1. Possession of wealth makes Western missionary insulation not separate facilities within the same society for the use of minority only possible, but highly probable. A primary advantage of wealth is groups. "Isolation" is a lack of contact, genuine communica­ its capacity to provide those who possess it with goods and ser­ tion, or interaction between persons or groups within a society. vices that serve to cushion them from the harsh realities of life. Perhaps nowhere is personal independence-as distinct from The survival instinct, which is common to all organisms, is, in interpersonal dependence-more highly valued than in North the case of human beings, supplemented by the desire to proceed America. Alexis de Tocqueville was to comment extensively on from birth to death as comfortably as possible. When compared this quality when he visited the United States more than 150 years with the poor, those who are rich are able to achieve astounding ago." While admitting admiration for their "manly indepen­ comfort on their journey through life, while at the same time dence," he noted an ominous side to American pride in self­ being able to postpone-seemingly indefinitely-the unpleasant reliance: profound isolation from the larger human community. 10 end of their pleasant journey." More recent observers support de Tocqueville. The universal The word "insulate" is thought to have derived from the human desire for community and interdependence are, according Latin insulatus-meaning to make into an island. The verb "in­ to one sociologist, frustrated in American society by the almost sulate" today generally means "to prevent or reduce the trans­ obsessive love of personal independence, which we have been mission of electricity, heat, or sound to or from [a body, device, taught from childhood to regard as normal. One common expres­ or region] by surrounding with a nonconducting material.':" Both sion of American circumvention of that interdependence upon the etymology and the definition of this word are instructive in which all human societies are based is seen, according to Philip the context of the present discussion, since to a remarkable degree Slater, in the high regard for personal privacy:

October 1989 175 vestige of the past. They could not help but notice that the mis­ We seek a private house, a private means of transportation, a pri­ sionaries on the station were virtually isolated from their closest vate garden, a private laundry, self-service stores, and do-it-your­ African neighbors. Any Africans venturing onto the station were self skills of every kind. An enormous technology seems to have menials or merchants, tending gardens, doing wash, delivering set itself the task of making it unnecessary for one human being loads of wood. It was a world apart-a world of privileged, in­ ever to ask anything of another in the course of going about his dulged missionary children enjoying the best education that daily business. Even within the family Americans are unique in their feeling that each member should have a separate room, and money can buy in that country; a world of happy, fulfilled, in­ even a separate telephone, television, and car, when economically dustrious, supremely secure white missionaries, spending their possible. We seek more and more privacy, and feel more and more lives in medical, educational, and developmental programs' on alienated and lonely when we get it. What accidental contacts we behalf of-though not with-Africans; a world of white families, do have, furthermore, seem more intrusive, not only because they each with its glowing future; a world viewed by its closest neigh­ are unsought but because they are unconnected with any familiar bors with bitterness, envy, resentment, and sometimes naked pattern of interdependence. 11 hostility. 14 This fierce love of personal independence is not left behind Since biblical faith is, above all, a relational faith, it is not when Western missionaries travel abroad. The independence to only sad, but sinful, when personal possessions and privileges which Westerners are accustomed is costly to maintain in other prevent, distort, or destroy the relationships of Christ's followers parts of the world;" Only the person of considerable means can with the poor. But this appears to be an almost inevitable con­ hope to afford it; conversely, the person wishing to live in an sequence of personal affluence. American way must have access to wealth. 3. The independence, segregation, and isolation that come with wealth translate into an unbridgeable social gulf between rich and poor. Independence is even more costly in nonmonetary terms, This social gulf makes genuine fraternal friendship so awkward however. Not surprisingly, Western missionary communities as to be virtually impossible, a phenomenon well documented by have from the beginning been marked by a de facto racial seg­ Robert Coles in his study of the children of affluent Americans. A regation, since membership is based upon economic criteria that wealthy mother's seven-word response to the troubled inquiry of her nine-year-old daughter somehow says everything the rich have ever been able to say concerning their relationships with the poor: "They are they and we are we."lS Nor have honest SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY observers of Western missionary social behavior been blind to their apparent inability to establish close friendships with the "Christian Witness in the Holy Land" poor. A friend is an intimate, someone with whom one generally February 19-28, 1990 has much in common. In their friendships, people naturally grav­ itate to those with whom they are not only temperamentally but This ten-day study program in Israel is sponsored by the socially and economically compatible. It is humanly almost im­ Tantur Ecumenical Institute, Overseas Ministries Study possible for a wealthy family to share a deeply fraternal relation­ Center, and Hartford Seminary's Duncan Black Macdonald ship with a family whose material and economic resources are a Center for the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Rela­ pathetic fraction of their own; who cannot afford an education tions. The seminar, which includes visits in Jerusalem and for their beloved children beyond minimal literacy, while the chil­ surrounding areas, will give special attention to the rela­ dren of the wealthy family anticipate as a matter of course op­ tionships of Palestinian Christians with other churches of portunity and money for education up to the very highest levels; the Middle East and with the Jewish and Muslim com­ whose house is a tiny one-room shack (made of straw or card­ munities. For further information contact: board) with no amenities, while the wealthy family resides West­ Overseas Ministries Study Center ern-style, in a bungalow complete with kitchen, bathroom, 490 Prospect Street private bedrooms for each member of the family, carpeted floors, New Haven, CT 06511 overstuffed furniture, closets and bureaus filled with clothes, and Tel: (203) 624-6672 personal servants; who must rely solely upon leg power to get anywhere, while the wealthy family has access to car, jeep, power-boat, or airplane; for whom the concept of vacation does not even exist, while the wealthy family spends one month of can generally be met only by Western Christians. This is not to each year traveling and sightseeing, or simply taking it easy in a say that all contact with impoverished nonwhites is avoided. On resort far away from the grind of everyday work. the contrary, it is often the plight of such poor that has figured Between families of widely disparate means and standards most prominently in Western missionary journeys to the ends of of living, friendship is extremely unlikely. With whom does a the earth. But such contacts have tended-particularly in places missionary naturally choose to spend leisure time? With whom where there are large concentrations of missionaries among even is a vacation comfortably shared? Who is likely to listen compre­ larger numbers of poor-to accentuate the missionaries' absolute hendingly, sympathetically, understandingly to a couple as they independence of and segregation from the poor. This is isolation. pour out the peculiar frustrations, burdens, and perplexities of There is something both ironic and tragic in the specter of a missionary parenting? With whom is a Western missionary likely supremely relational gospel being proclaimed by an isolated com­ to go shopping for family birthday or Christmas gifts? Who is munity of segregated whites! able to commiserate with the missionary on the inadequacy of Details of a report by two of my students who recently visited his or her support level? From whom will a missionary likely seek one of the largest mission stations in Africa sadly confirm that advice on personal financial matters-investment, banking, sav­ "the tendency for missionaries to withhold themselves from ing? In every case, it is very doubtful that the poor would have participation in local community life,,13 is by no means a mere any part in these aspects of a missionary's life. The social rapport

176 International Bulletin of Missionary Research required must obviously be reserved for social and economic about the stewardship of possessions? Biblical answers to ques­ peers. The presence of the poor in such situations would be an tions such as these suggest that emissaries of affluent Western embarrassment to any missionary of even moderate sensitivity. churches dare not excuse their materialist preoccupations by The staggeringly high relational price that Western mission­ blaming their culture. But there is a second question that must aries must pay for their affluence could perhaps be overlooked, or be asked. at least endured, were it not for its insidious effects upon the B. Is the sin of greed less deadly for Western Christians than communication process. For medium and message are both sig­ for the poor among whom they live? I believe the answer must nificantly affected by the relationship of the missionary to the be No. If-as I am often reminded by my missionary friends­ convert or would-be convert. If the message of the cross consisted poverty and wealth are relative concepts, making it possible for simply of a series of theologically correct propositions about God, the same person to be poor in North America but rich in Africa, humankind, and salvation, then the obligation to preach the gos­ then surely it must be conceded that a life of pecuniary propriety pel could be fulfilled by means of public announcements over the in one society may be regarded as profligate in another. radio. But the Word must always be made flesh, and dwell among It did not require a theologian to discern as long ago as 1956 humanity. And the Way has always best been shown by those that in the West all but one of the "seven deadly 'sins,' sloth, who can be accompanied by would-be pilgrims. Missionaries are was transformed into a positive virtue. Greed, avarice, envy, glut­ above all Way-showers, whose lives must be imitatable by their tony, luxury, and pride were the driving force of the new econ­ converts. Missionaries are not simply voice boxes, but pilgrims omy.,,16 Of vital concern to Western missionaries must be the who invite others to join them on the narrow way. question of how and to what degree they unconsciously reflect It is clear from the Christian revelation that, while human this inversion of biblical values. Can it be that even these pious beings are social, communicating, and thinking creatures, they and esteemed representatives of the Western churches have been are-at root-profoundly theological beings, created in the image tainted by that ethical decay which lies at the heart of what is of God. As a consequence, there is no facet of their life or thought called "consumerism"? The rapidity with which even margin­ that does not in some way reflect or affect their theology. ally technological "breakthroughs" are metamorphosed into The social insulation, isolation, independence, and segre­ "necessities" in Western mission may provide a clue to the gation from the poor that are seemingly inevitable relational con­ answer to this question. sequences of missionary affluence become profoundly troubling If "greed" be defined as the desire for more than enough when observed in the lives of those who represent the One who in a social context in which some have less than enough, then not only emptied himself in order to identify with the plight of most who journey from North American shores must accept the fallen humanity-making himself "nothing, taking the very na­ fact that most of the world so considers them. Among the most ture of a servant"-but who instructed all would-be followers to awkward challenges faced by Western missionaries abroad is the do likewise (Phil. 2:1-11).* All too apparent, likewise, are the necessity of explaining to the truly needy why Westerners not ethical questions raised by the great gulf between the public preaching and the private practice of those whose mandate is to communicate the gospel in deed as well as in word. The New Missionaries are not Testament calls this hypocrisy. And is not the practice of a strategy that can be emulated by only the very rich, and which by its very simply voice boxes, but nature is not capable of relating the gospel to the poor, a theo­ pilgrims who invite others logical as well as a sociological issue? What follows is no more than a hint of the wide range and complex nature of theological to join them on the narrow and ethical issues deriving from missionary affluence. way. 4. Personal affluence in the context of poverty raises legitimate doubts concerning a missionary's willingness to obey and abilityto teach the whole counsel of God regarding mammon. only need to be staggeringly wealthy by the standards of all but A. Is Western Christian preoccupation with material things­ a few, but will doubtless need even more next year. In the eyes with a continual desire for more-really no more than an inno­ of the poor even the ordinary missionary must seem to incarnate cently acquired cultural trait? Enculturation in a society committed many of those qualities, which, by Paul's standards, disqualified to and structured around the proposition that life consists in the a person from office in a church: a lover of money (1 Tim. 3:3), abundance of possessions does have a significant bearing upon one who has not fled from but, rather, embraced great gain (1 Tim. the theological integrity and credibility of Western missionaries. 6:5-11). According to Paul, the children of darkness are .charac­ How can the economically secure and lavishly materially accou­ terized by self-indulgence of every kind, and by "a continual tered missionary teach the poor-with any degree of credibility­ lust for more" (Eph. 4:19). "But among you," Paul continues, about simplicity, generosity, contentment, or the costly sacrifice "there must not be even a hint [italics added] of greed.... entailed in all genuine discipleship? A missionary must teach For of this you can be sure: No ... such person has any these things, for they are in the very warp and woof of the Scrip­ inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph. 5:3-5). tures. And will not the obvious "thought for the morrow" These are sobering words to those of us who-despite being sur­ taken by latter-day apostles to maintain and even increase per­ rounded by the truly needy-have come to expect as our due sonal comfort and security in this life make their teaching on the steady improvement in our already high standard of living, even great joys of the life to come sound rather unconvincing to pov­ if it must be at the expense of those who barely subsist. erty-stricken disciples? Is it possible to maintain both credibility Sadly, a strong case can be made in support of the proposition and an affluent lifestyle when teaching the poor what God says that Western missionaries-true sons and daughters of their churches back home-show no great willingness to lose all things for the sake of Jesus Christ. Far from being, in Paul's words, "Biblical quotations in this article arefrom the New International Version. "rubbish" (Phil. 3:7-8), their material symbols of affluence have

October 1989 177 become absolutely essential for the continuation of mission from selves, "He saved others, but he can't save himself!,,19 Alas the West. Christ's teaching on the abundance of possessions can­ for religious teachers of that day and this! In trying to save them­ not be taught-because it will not be practiced-by most Western selves, they cannot save others. Christians. Added to the self-savingaffluence of Western missions, which 5. The money- and power-based strategies and statuses generated leaves so little room for that weakness in which God delights, by the institutional and personal affluence of Western missionaries con­ one final deeply theological problem needs to be touched upon. tradict principles that areat the very heartof Christian mission as pre­ 6. Both the motives and the message of affluent missionaries are scribed in the New Testament. The incarnation and the cross of our suspect, and biblical teaching on wealth and poverty, the rich and the Savior are models for apostolic life and ministry. For those of us poor, must necessarily betruncated when conveyed viaan affluentchan­ who insist on clinging to our prerogatives as privileged Western­ nel. Missionaries cannot challenge converts to a way of life that ers, the missiological implications of the incarnation are clear. they themselves are unwilling to live. This is a centuries-old One of the conclusions emerging from the 1978 Willowbank Con­ problem that recurs wherever missionaries from the West have sultation on the Gospel and Culture was, not surprisingly, that gone to do their work among materially poorer societies. the incarnation is a model for Christian witness. Applied to Chris­ Can the secure and infinitely better-off missionaries teach tian missionary endeavor this meant, the authors of the Report those who barely subsist about sacrifice, about simplicity, about went on to explain, a threefold renunciation: of status, of inde­ costly discipleship? Can they demonstrate their personal faith in pendence, and of immunity." the truth that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim. Those Western missions popularly regarded as most pro­ 6:fr-19)? How can the Western missionary teach poor Christians gressive typically do their best to demonstrate that they have not to become engrossed in the things of this world, because they reversed this pattern: the missionary vocation becomes a distin­ are all passingaway-whenthemissionary's ownlifestyle suggests guished career, longevity of tenure ensuring a pleasant retirement a preoccupation with possessions (1 Cor. 7:30-31)? Is it possible in Florida, and perhaps even the status of "statesman"; a rich for affluent missionaries to claim honestly, in the midst of their variety of home-based support infrastructures reduce local de­ plenty, that they consider everything as rubbish compared to the pendence to a minimum; financial, logistical, and medical con­ surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus their Lord, for tingencies are anticipated and dealt with in such' a way as to whose sake they have lost all things (Phil. 3:8)? Is it possible that missionaries from the West so reflect the values of the West that such things can only be "taught," not demonstrated? Honest answers to questions such as these indicate that both the credi­ Global poverty is an acute bility and the integrity of missionary endeavors from the wealthy material problem, but nations are in jeopardy. In summary, Western missionary affluence· Western affluence is a is the human culture in which profoundly theological relational and ethical problems most naturally thrive: preoccupation with profoundly spiritual one. possessions; an exclusive dependence upon power-based statuses and strategies; and ethical double standards. Western Christians rightly regard the poverty of fellow hu­ guarantee to missionaries immunity from the dire straits of those man beings as a gigantic problem about which we seem able to among whom they work. We save ourselves, we assure ourselves, do very little; we have proved less willing to view our personal so that we can save others. affluence as a spiritual-henceeven greater-problem. Global pov­ The affluence-based mission of the Western church-in con­ erty is an acute material problem, no doubt; but Western affluence trast to the incarnation-based mission of its Lord-most naturally is a profoundly spiritual one. Is it not at least as difficult for us serves as an ecclesiastical springboard for moving up, not down; members of the Western church to overcome our affluence as it is its independently secure missionaries find lording both more nat­ for our poverty-stricken brothers and sisters in the rest of the ural and more immediately effective than serving, although many world to survive their poverty? Unless we come to see our West­ have convinced themselves that domination is service. The great ern world through the eyes of Jesus, we shall continue to excuse marvel of living in the technological age is that one's mission can the personal and collective covetousness and greed that have speed up, rather than-as in the case of Christ-slow down and made us "great," and above the locked door to the heart of finally come to a complete halt on the cross. We have discovered­ the richest church the world has ever seen will be written-in to our great relief-that prolonging one's abundant life is not only splendid gilt lettering-the word ICHABOD. And the Savior will personally gratifying; it is a demonstrably superior way of mar­ remain on the outside (Rev. 3:17-20). keting the good news than is, say, dying. And thus the gospel What can be done? Is it really true, as Ivan Illich insisted, in is reduced to the peddling of ideas about the One who was rich 1970, that "There is no exit from a way of life built on $5000­ but for our sakes became poor, and who personally demonstrated plus per year...,,?20 The Western missionary experience of the what has proved to be true ever since: spiritual vitality comes to 1980s seems to support his pessimism; but are change, repent­ full potence only through weakness (2 Cor. 12:9-10). ance, conversion-the stock-in-tradeof missionarypreaching-pos­ The affluent church-by abandoning the incarnation as a sible only for nonmissionaries? model for its own life and mission-has demonstrated its funda­ mental spiritual impotence. For as theologian Trevor Verryn re­ The possibility of the Christian mission being carried out minds us, "Only the truly strong are able to lay aside their without vast financial resources or an elite corps of highly paid power in an act of self-emptying and assume a position of pow­ professional Western missionaries is not merely a theoretical pos­ erlessness.":" The strategy of the cross that has ever marked the sibility. For the major part of the church's existence it has been true servant of God is nowhere more accurately or inadvertently a necessity, and as the twentieth century draws to a close, it is summed up than in the words of the ridicule of the religiously increasingly clear that most missionary endeavor has been, is powerful who, satisfied that they had saved themselves no end being, and must continue to be undertaken by missionaries from of trouble by at last disposing of Jesus, chuckled among them­ the poorer churches." One of the most difficult lessons the West­

178 International Bulletin of Missionary Research Meet Ruth Tucker... The Excitement of a Good Novel. The Insight of a Good Documentary. ANOTHER GOSPEL Alternative Religions and the New Age Movement From the Mormons to Rajneesch, heterodox religious movements have flour­ ished in North America. InAnother Gospel, historian and award-winning author Ruth Tucker tells the storyof these varied groups. In a manner that is fair, yet committed to Christian truth, Tucker presents their history, beliefs, and outreach efforts, as well as biographies of their founders and key members. It's essential for anyone concerned with cults, the church, or American religion. GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT COMMISSION The Story ofWomen in Modern Missions Acompanion volume to the award­ winning From Jerusalem to Irianjaya, this work vividly brings to life the history of women in world evangelism. Features dra­ matic accounts ofdaring pioneer ministry, fascinating stories of the development of innovative concepts in mission strategy, as wellas impassioned, "Most people think ofhistory behind-the-scenes portrayals of romance and intrigue. as boring - allfacts and dates. But FROM JERUSALEM TO IRIAN JAYA talk about people and theirfoibles ABiographical History of Christian Missions and struggles, and history comes Winner of the ECPA Go ld Medallion alive with morepowerthan a "This is history at its best...readable, informative , and above all honest:' gripping drama With a colorful cast - David M.Howard, Wo rld Evangelica l Fellowship of characters. " DAUGHTERS OFTHE CHURCH Womenand Ministry from From the manse to the mis­New Testament Times to the Present with Walter Liefeld "Superb....Current debate must includethisexceptional perspective:' sionfields, Ruth Tucker bringsa - Journal of the Evangelical Theological Soc iety personalfocusto church historythat deepens understanding. FIRST LADIES OF THE PARISH Historical Portraits of Pastors' Wives A visiting Professorat trinity From Katie Luther toJill Briscoe, here's a fascinating look at women Evangelical Divinity School, Tucker who, through the centuries, have served the church as pastors' wives. also teaches courses at Calvin Col­Forthcoming from Ruth Tucker... lege and Mqffat College ofthe Bible, The Christian Speaker's Trea sury:ASourcebook ofAnecdotes and Kijabe, Kenya. Quotes (Published by Harper and Row), June 1989 Sacred Stories: Daily Devotionsfrom the Family of God (Published by Zondervan), September 1989. At Christian bookstores everywhere , or call 1-800-72 7-3480. G3 ern church will one day be compelled to learn is, according to dimly understood or inadequately applied, God's revelation to theologian David Bosch, "how to become again what it orig­ humankind by means of words and through the Living Word inally was and was always supposed to be: the church without must be the basis of all Christian missionary belief and action. privileges, the church of the catacombs rather than of the halls The Bible is our map. Jesus is our best example of how to follow of fame and power and wealth.,,22 that map. When it comes to transforming international or national po­ Only with such a theological orientation can practical prob­ litical, social, economic, or religious institutions, it is true that the lems and objections be dealtwith Christianly rather than just prag­ efforts of one person must seem comically inadequate. We yearn matically, and, where need be, changes can be made, new for "structural change," which will make personal change eas­ directions can be taken, and relationships between rich Christians ier. In the colorful words of a former editor of the Edinburgh and mammon can be transformed. The conscience, someone once Review, we feel "like flies on the chariot wheel; perched upon noted, is like a sundial. The person who comes to it in the night a question of which we can neither see the diameter, nor control with only a flashlight will discover that it will obligingly tell any the motion, nor influence the moving force.,,23 But fatalism has time one might wish; but during the day, with the sun shining never been a strong forte of Western missionaries. Like the apostle upon it, it must tell the truth. The parallel between the Christian Paul (Rom. 7:14-25), they well know that the line between good conscience and the Word of God is clear. and evil cannot be drawn between opposing political or economic Among the richly varied theological motifs running through ideologies, or along racial, social, national, or even religious lines: the pages of the New Testament, three are of such broad signif­ for both good and evil dwell within the heart of every person icance as to touch upon every other facet of Christian faith and born. They know, furthermore, that the goal of the Christian life practice: the incarnation, the cross, and weakness as power. is not the creation and maintenance of a personal utopia in this For Western Christian missions, grappling with economic life. To manifest the fruit of the Spirit in a less-than-perfect en­ power at the theological level will mean subjecting all personal, vironment is not only a more worthy, but a more realistic, goal family, ecclesiastical, and strategic plans, policies, practices, and in a creation groaning under the tyranny of the forces of darkness. considerations to these three questions: (1) Does it reflect the in­ In grappling with questions arising from personal affluence, carnation, or is it essentially self-serving? (2) Is the cross both the the Christian missionary must begin with a clear understanding message and the method, or is self-preservation the bottom line? of the profoundly theological dimensions of the issue. Ideas have (3) Are people more impressed by its stability and strength or by consequences. The One who searches and knows the secrets of its weakness? The answers to these questions will provide some the human heart reminds us of what we already instinctively intimation of the future of Western missions as a vitally Christian know: as people thinketh in their hearts, so are they. However spiritual force.

Notes------­

1. See E. J. Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire, 1875-1914 (New York: Pan­ Allowances, and Hardship Differentials. As the July 1987 edition of this theon Books, 1987), p. 15. publication explains, "the indexes should not be used to compare 2. Trevor D. Verryn, "What Is Communication? Searching for a Mis­ living costs of Americans in the United States with the living costs siological Model," Missionalia 11, no. 1 (April 1983): 25. of foreign nationals living in their own country, since the indexes 3. David Jonathon East, Western Africa: Its Condition, and Christianity the reflect only the expenditure pattern and living costs of Americans" (p. Means of Its Recovery (London: Houlston & Stoneman, 1844), p. 243. 1). A number of U.S.-based mission agencies use the data in this 4. Allan John Macdonald, Trade, Politics and Christianity in Africaand the publication as a helpful point of reference when undertaking similar East (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1916), p. 54. calculations on behalf of their own missionaries. 5. This is the figure given by the editors of the 13th edition of the Mission 13. This was the assessment of veteran missionary and author Arden Handbook: North American Ministries Overseas (Monrovia: Missions Almquist in his book Missionary Come Back! (New York: World Pub­ Advanced Research and Communication Center, 1986), p. 611. lishing Co., 1970), p. 26. 6. Ibid., p. 11. 14. November 1987, Nairobi, Peters and Nelson to Bonk. The observations 7. See "Table 16.3 Health Indicators, 1964-90," pp. 252-53, of World of youthful visitors are often superficial, it is true. But sadly, this was Resources 1987:A ReportbytheInternational Institutefor Environment and not the case in this instance. The view that this large enclave of Development and the World Resource Institute (New York: Basic Books, Western missionaries is profoundly isolated was subsequently cor­ 1987). Missionary longevity makes missionaries a good risk for in­ roborated by several who's judgment cannot be so lightly dismissed. surance companies, a number of which offer life insurance policies Two of these are Kenyans--the one an active churchman and chairman to missionaries at preferred rates. of the Religious Studies Department of a large university in Nairobi; 8. Collins English Dictionary of the English Language (1979). the other a missionary-educated official within the Kenyan Depart­ 9. De Tocqueville was a French nobleman who is today best known for ment of Education. The third is a well-known American professor of his book Democracy in America, containing descriptions and observa­ missions, who is a regular visiting lecturer at a nearby African Bible tions made in the Course of less than one year of travel in the United School. States in 1831-32. The book has remained in print ever since, and 15. Robert Coles, Privileged Ones: TheWell-Offand the Richin America. Vol. continues to be cited as an accurate and still useful commentary on 5 of Children in Crisis (Boston: Atlantic-Little, Brown Books, 1977), p. the American way of life. Since that time, countless others have com­ 77. mented on the American love of independence. See, for example, 16. Lewis Mumford, The Transformation of Man as cited on p. 250 of David Jules Henry, Culture againstMan (New York: Random House, 1963), E. Shi, TheSimpleLife: PlainLivingandHighThinkingin American Culture and Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness: American Culture at the (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1985). Breaking Point (Boston: Beacon Press, 1970). 17. Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, Occasional Paper No. 10. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New York: D. Appleton 2, The Willowbank Report; Report of a Consultation on Gospel and and Company, 1901), vol. 2, p. 786. Culture held at Willowbank, Somerset Bridge, Bermuda, from 6th to 11. Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness, p. 7. 13th January 1978. Sponsored by the Lausanne Theology and Edu­ 12. This is why the U.S. Department of Labor publishes the quarterly cation Group (Wheaton, Ill.: Lausanne Committee for World Evan­ bulletin U.S. Department of StateIndexes ofLivingCosts Abroad, Quarters gelization, 1978), pp. 17-18.

180 International Bulletin of Missionary Research 18. Trevor D. Verryn, "Outside the Camp: A Study of Religious Au­ 20. Ivan lllich, Celebration of Awareness: A Call for Institutional Revolution thority and Conversion" (unpublished D.Th. thesis, University of (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1970), p. 27. South Africa, as cited by David Bosch in his article, "The Mis­ 21. According to David B. Barrett's "Annual Statistical Table on Global sionary: Exemplar or Victim?" in Theologia Evangelica, 17, no. 1 (March Mission: 1988," in International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 12, no. 1984): 14. 1 (january 1988): 16-17, there are now an estimated 262,000 foreign 19. Mark 15:31. See Kosuke Koyama's chapter, "Theology of the missionaries and 3,800 foreign-mission sending agencies. In addition, Cross" in his book, Mount Fuji and Mount Sinai: A Critique of Idols there are 3,807,600 national church workers. Most of these are non­ (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1984), pp. 240-61, for a thought-pro­ Western and, by Western standards, poor. voking development of this theme. See also the article by Catholic 22. David]. Bosch, "Vision for Mission," International Review of Mission theologian William B. Frazier "Where Mission Begins: A Foun­ 76, no. 301 (January 1987): 15. dational Probe," in International Bulletinof Missionary Research 11, no. 23. W. E. Russell, Sydney Smith (London: Macmillan & Co., 1905)~ p. 107. 4 (October 1987): 146-56. Book Reviews

Many Mansions: A Christian's Encounter with Other Faiths.

By Harvey Cox. Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, 1988. Pp. 216. $18.95.

This is a personal testimony of one of truth claims despite raising the issue liography (e.g., Carl Raschke and Tissa man's encounter with the major world on numerous occasions. Neither do we Balasuriya). There is a certain hurried­ religions and current ideologies such have any adequate exploration of ness and lack of rigor. to this otherwise as Marxism. Cox begins with a plea for Christology and the Trinity, although moving autobiographical account. the centrality of personal testimony in in Cox's religionless Christianity this is -Gavin D'Costa the meeting between persons, and for not altogether surprising. From Cox's commitment to Jesus in affording the account it is difficult to see what con­ best guide to the "rules" of dia­ stitutes either the distinctiveness or the logue. In a charming and stimulating uniqueness of Christianity, and when Responding creatively to the account we hear how, for example, he he says that Hinduism could learn needs ofFurloughed and Return­ has discovered "the feminine qual­ from Christianity about the value of ing Missionaries is the hallmark ity of God" (p. 63) through Vaishnavite "change" (pp. 67f£.), the question of Catholic Theological Union's Hinduism, how Buddhist meditation arises whether he offers a reductionist (CTU) Mission Program. CTU helped him realize the role of Jesus, and sometimes superficial picture of Mission courses are presented and how liberation theology properly the world religions. His chapter on from a global perspective, within makes it "difficult to justify any Christian-Jewish relations fails to dia­ a cross-cultural environment. form of interreligious dialogue in logue seriously with exegetical opin­ Our Hyde Park location allows stu­ which the poor are systematically ex­ ions contrary to his own, and dents to experience ministry within cluded" (p. 179). He ends with a vision important authors mentioned in the an urban context. Creative mis­ of wider ecumenism in which "re­ book are often missing from the bib- siologists include: ligions" concern themselves mutually in stewardship of our fragile planet. Gavin D'Costa is an Indian RomanCatholic and Stephen Bevans, SVD Archimedes Fornasari, MCCJ Anthony Gittins, CSSp John Kaserow, MM Tellingly, Jesus is never mentioned in lectures at the West London Institute of Higher Michael Kirwen, MM Jamie Phelps, OP the final chapter and many questions Education, London. He has been involved in in­Ana Maria Pineda, SM Robert Schreiter, CPPS are untouched or unresolved. terfaith dialogue for many years and has British Cox does notreflecton the question nationality. FALL MISSION INTENSIVE: Conducted by Claude-Marie Barbour andEleanor Doidge, WB - Theory and experience integration Dictionary of Pentecostal and -Individualized 10 week program - Cross-cultural training Charismatic Movements. PROGRAMS OFFERED: Edited by Stanley M. Burgess, Gary B. - Degrees and Certificates McGee, and Patrick H. Alexander. Grand - Continuing Education Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing - Day, Evening and Weekend Courses House, 1988. Pp. xiii, 914. $29.95. CONI'ACT: Lawrence Nemer, SVD When I first came to England I ap­ ble, fill a long-felt gap, and had to be Director of World Mission Program proached Oxford University Press edited by an international team of CATHOliC THEOWGICAL UNION with a plan for an "Oxford Diction­ scholars. I received a rather rude letter 5401 South Cornell - IBMR ary of Pentecostalism." I pointed out telling me that the OUP could not pos­ Chicago, Illinois 60615 to the publishers that such an enter­ sibly provide dictionaries for every (312) 324-8000 prise would be financially highly via- conceivable sect!

October 1989 181