open: Spiritual Masturbation Part 6. Short-term Mission Trips
Anna Meadows
· 1 year ago
I'm feeling very convicted right now.... we suck!!
Jonathan
· 1 year ago
Anna, the idea is not to necessarily see how bad we suck...because we do...but how all our righteoussness is but filthy rags compared to the glories of Christ. The beautiful thing about Christ is He takes our broken, sinful offerings, and presents them gloriously to the Father. The idea is to see the disparity between us and Him.
aaron
· 1 year ago
It's a good thought that challenges why we serve others (either in our daily life or abroad) Conviction just calls use to action. Thanks Anna!
Roland Thomas Gilbert
· 1 year ago
No, this is definitely NOT supposed to happen. I agree that many times it appears that way. And when it does, it does not fulfill the Great Commission to go and make disciples [Matthew 28:19-20]. While it does demonstrate love through ministry, it does not necessarily result in transformed lives through evangelism; nor help them become more like Jesus through discipleship; nor grow into spiritual maturity through fellowship; nor create an opportunity of passionate connection with God through worship.
That's why our church has partnered with e3Partners.org to be involved with completely different kinds of evangelism and church planting campaigns.
Thanks for a great conversation starter!
aaron
· 1 year ago
Roland thanks for your thoughts. My prayer is that the we as individuals or e3 never do something to just feel good about. Go make disciples brother!
Branden Neubig
· 1 year ago
To quote Nietzche, "To become ashamed of one's immorality-that is a step on the staircase at whose end one is also ashamed of one's morality."
How righteous we have become that even in our grandest moments of self-sacrifice we demean and criticize those very actions which brought change and stability to people who have known only turbulence and loss?
Jonathan
· 1 year ago
grandest moments of self-sacrifice?
Branden Neubig
· 1 year ago
subjectively speaking...
Jonathan
· 1 year ago
If what we were doing was purely humanitarian, if we were looking to the greatest accomplishmants of humanity, then Nietzche would be right. But when we are looking to our King, and His glory, and His desire foor purity then we must be introspective.
Branden Neubig
· 1 year ago
I see now that introspection is the goal of your series, but I am forced to defend the individual "upper-middle class, church-going, God-fearing, Americans" whom you slander for shock value.
"We have alot of pictures for our slide show. We feel good inside. We talk about how we went to bless them but they blessed us. We got to check this off our spiritual list".
It sickens me to see such compassion belittled into religious humdrum. Even the title, Spiritual Masturbation, is grossly pretentious. Ugh.
aaron
· 1 year ago
Banden thanks for your reply to the reply to the reply.
Shock value or slander is not a goal. Compassion lends us to believe we are better humans than the subjects of our compassion. I've seen more pure joy in slums of Costa Rica then ever in America. I've seen people with nothing enjoy life more. Should we as Americans go on mission trips? Yes! Should we do it because our heart is broken? Yes! "Spiritual Masturbation" when we think about it beckons us to ask the question...do we serve to simply feel good about our own lives? If that’s the case for anyone...it sickens me.
aaron
· 1 year ago
yea because we are missing our favorite TV shows.
Scott Magdalein
· 1 year ago
He's not criticizing doing good for people. He's revealing a truth that "missions" has digressed to feel-good trips. My assumption is that there isn't much actual mission work being done. And by mission work, I mean sharing the Gospel outrightly and boldly, giving people what they most need. A relationship with a loving, provisioning God.
Johnny Davis
· 1 year ago
But if there isn't much "mission work being done" who's fault is it? Because, after all, he is speaking from a standpoint on someone who is a missionary who oversees short term missions groups coming into mexico. So if the short term missions group only does what it's told, isn't it the fault of the group who is asking these "upper middle-class" Americans" to give their time and money to them that the gospel isn't being spread? And if we americans are so bad here in america about speading the gospel, why are we expected to go into another country and be bold right away? When more than likely most people that would be going can't speak spanish anyway. Maybe it would benefit us if we only build a house for someone in mexico, or maybe it would be better if we didn't just so we wouldn't get a sense of pride in what we have done. What does this even have to do with masturbation? Because when you masturbate you're not doing something good to gratify yourself.
Johnny
aaron
· 1 year ago
Johnny thanks for your post. To me it's not about "what" we are doing so much as to "why" we are doing it. Masturbation is to feel good. Hopefully when we serve that is not our goal.
aaron
· 1 year ago
Scott...well put! Thanks
aaron
· 1 year ago
Branden thanks for your thoughts and passion. Do mission trips accomplish many positive thing...yes. My thought is that what we call "our grandest moments of self-sacrifice" simply means leaving our soft bed, warm house, clean water, while recording our favorite TV shows for later watching...while we do something to fill a void in us...we've missed the point. When was the last time we served someone, and no-one ever found out about it? To me it our motives that either make or break us.
Branden Neubig
· 1 year ago
Motives can change depending on the individual. This entire post needs to replace every "we" with "I".
aaron
· 1 year ago
"we" is safe. "I" is threatning.
I totally agree it depends on each individual.
Jordan
· 1 year ago
Hey I've got a game...lets try and think of the worst people to quote in order to validate our comments. Good job Branden!! Nietzche was my number two choice...right behind Hitler.
Branden Neubig
· 1 year ago
Jordan, show me again your contribution to this discussion? I can't seem to find it.
PS: Godwin's Law, Google it.
K-Mad
· 1 year ago
Really? You can't find his contribution? What did you respond to then?
Branden Neubig
· 1 year ago
What?
Scott Magdalein
· 1 year ago
I've found this whole series really insightful. Well done.
On a side note, if you want to be able to keep track of the series that you do in the future, check out my tumblr, HearScott.com. I linked to a great Wordpress plugin that'll do the trick. If you need help, you know where to find me.
Lorren
· 1 year ago
Ooh, this is a little too accurate a blog for my taste. So then why do we go and how is it supposed to be?
aaron
· 1 year ago
we live a quiet life of continual service.
not a quick trip to say we are done.
Natalie Witcher
· 1 year ago
mmm, I gotta tell ya, I'm not ashamed that God chose me for this generation in this country. It's a heart thing concerning why someone goes on a trip. There's nothing wrong with feeling good about going on a ST-Missions trip. There's nothing wrong with giving even a week to those who need others. Not all are called to go and stay. We're all called to go and tell the world, but it doesn't look the same for all of us. Some are meant to be here and use their money for the nations. Some are meant to be here and send the others. Some are meant to go and come back and tell others what's out there. It takes all kinds of us to make sure the Gospel is presented. But we've got to check the heart. I can go, be broken, feel gratitude for what I have and then use it in my country to make a difference somewhere else.
I'm not as upset as Brandon, but to blanket and say we all do this to make ourselves feel better is a stretch. It takes all of us with our different talents, passions, and means to take Jesus to the nations, even if we're there for a moment.
Clayton Bell
· 1 year ago
Hi, new here, haven't read the whole thing.
I've been on mission trips and overseen them. I was actually saved on just such a short-term works mission trip, and went on another one the next year and visited some of the poorest parts of the Dominican in the process. I went home, I got a lot of great pictures, and I don't remember anyone's name.
However it was the first time I'd seen anything like that. It was not without a long-term, lasting effect. The reverberating impact of that experience so early in my faith has caused me to always have an emphasis in caring for the poor, the widow, and the orphan. It's been a part of joining with local homeless shelters, and creating a campaign within our local church.
I've also led trips where people experienced the poorest parts of South Africa and it still was just a tourism experience for them. I don't know that it's a bad thing to do what you're talking about, because the experiences vary so much. I doubt many are going to jump into a long-term mission situation without getting some experience, and the effectiveness of the trip, no matter how long, is a combination of the sending and receiving parties.
Just some thoughts...
aaron
· 1 year ago
welcome to the conversation Clayton! i love the long term lasting effects! that is pure, we just can't loose that purity.
aaron
· 1 year ago
Natalie thanks for your thoughts. It is up to every individual. Nothing is 100% pure (except God) This post wasn't to be taken as a blanket statement...just as a personal reflection into our own lives. Some people really do serve on mission trips...others are just performing spiritual masturbation.
Jon Acuff
· 1 year ago
Aaron - Thanks for checking out my site www.prodigaljohn.com. by all means, please add me to your blogroll. I will add you to mine
the guest blog is a cool idea, I have not done that on my site but I might sometime.
Jon
Joseph
· 1 year ago
Wow! I'd say there are a few heated comments here. I certainly see the value of the post and take the essence of its meaning, though I'm inclined to agree with Branden that the post title would seem to be more inclined toward shock value than actual accuracy. Depending on who you are, you could interpret that as sensationalism.
It is however (at least in my opinion) largely true to say that many people go on mission trips and think that the biggest sacrifice is giving up their comfortable way of life to "endure hardship" for a while among the less privileged of the world. As a Nigerian who pastors in the USA, I can tell you that no matter how much hard candy you hand out to the kids, no matter how many "gently used" clothes you distribute, no matter how many pictures you take with the "natives", they still watch you get back on a plane and jet off to your completely unrelated lifestyles, probably never even remembering the names of half the people you met. They are less interested in your "gifts" as they are in whether you really see them as equal to you in the eyes of the Lord. Make no mistake about it, the indigenous people of these nations can read your hearts.
Finally, as I end my dissertation :) I want to ask Aaron to clarify his statement "Compassion lends us to believe we are better humans than the subjects of our compassion." What does this mean? Are you suggesting that the idea of compassion is misplaced, and if so why do the Scriptures continue to tell us that Jesus was moved with compassion at the plight of the lost, the poor and the hurting?
aaron
· 1 year ago
Joseph thanks for the post and you ask a fair question.
Putting a “does" in front of that sentence would probably clarify. My post was following Branden in which the theme of this entire blog post is asking our motives. So in middle of the city dump handing out our hard candy do we as the givers feel a step or two higher on the on the human ladder? Do we think we are better than the "natives" and a follow up question would be if it's true compassion we are showing (which I 100% agree with you Jesus asks of us!!!) what are we doing about it when we get back home?
Thoughts?
Branden Neubig
· 1 year ago
Excellent post worth reading again and again.
Joseph
· 1 year ago
Aaron, thanks for responding to my question. Your point is well made and well taken. Had you asked it as a rhetorical question I would certainly have concurred. Our motives are the primary factor in all of the guest blogs that you posted whether it be on fasting or short-term mission trips. Your question, "...what are we doing about it when we get home?" is a question I have been asking of Americans for years. Don't pay lip service to caring for the poor and the needy. It is much less hypocritical if you say that you have no interest in going (not that I support that idea) than if you decided to go because it was expected of you but your heart really wasn't in it.
Jermayn
· 1 year ago
This is a real touchy point! Jesus said "the poor will always be with us". Unless we teach them how not to be poor (poverty is a spirit), they will be the same in x months time.
The old saying goes something like: "Teach them to fish instead of giving them fish"
Christi D.
· 1 year ago
Random question....what was #5?:)
I agree with most of the comments here in one way or another. We can't blanketly say that each short term trip was for selfish gain. I also see the point of the post and how we can turn things around to make them be about "us" instead of "them". We "rough" it and think we have provided a service while sacrificing for a short time. If it stops there, then yes- that is not a good thing. If we are changed and inspired to help continue sacrificing and giving, then I think it was totally worth it. Serving others is a lifestyle- not a getaway glimpse into the lives of the poor.
Jonathan
· 1 year ago
Read jimmys post on #4 and you will see what #5 was
Spencer J
· 1 year ago
I know for shure that everyday I take something God has given to me for granted. It's something that I believe we all struggle with, but we can't ever seem to get ahead of. It's also that the culture is constantly feeding us lies of superficaial things that will not satisfy our needs. Doing a mission project should be a selfless act of worship!!
All Comments
Thanks Anna!
That's why our church has partnered with e3Partners.org to be involved with completely different kinds of evangelism and church planting campaigns.
Thanks for a great conversation starter!
How righteous we have become that even in our grandest moments of self-sacrifice we demean and criticize those very actions which brought change and stability to people who have known only turbulence and loss?
"We have alot of pictures for our slide show. We feel good inside. We talk about how we went to bless them but they blessed us. We got to check this off our spiritual list".
It sickens me to see such compassion belittled into religious humdrum. Even the title, Spiritual Masturbation, is grossly pretentious. Ugh.
Shock value or slander is not a goal.
Compassion lends us to believe we are better humans than the subjects of our compassion. I've seen more pure joy in slums of Costa Rica then ever in America. I've seen people with nothing enjoy life more. Should we as Americans go on mission trips? Yes! Should we do it because our heart is broken? Yes! "Spiritual Masturbation" when we think about it beckons us to ask the question...do we serve to simply feel good about our own lives? If that’s the case for anyone...it sickens me.
Johnny
To me it's not about "what" we are doing so much as to "why" we are doing it. Masturbation is to feel good. Hopefully when we serve that is not our goal.
"I" is threatning.
I totally agree it depends on each individual.
PS: Godwin's Law, Google it.
On a side note, if you want to be able to keep track of the series that you do in the future, check out my tumblr, HearScott.com. I linked to a great Wordpress plugin that'll do the trick. If you need help, you know where to find me.
not a quick trip to say we are done.
I'm not as upset as Brandon, but to blanket and say we all do this to make ourselves feel better is a stretch. It takes all of us with our different talents, passions, and means to take Jesus to the nations, even if we're there for a moment.
I've been on mission trips and overseen them. I was actually saved on just such a short-term works mission trip, and went on another one the next year and visited some of the poorest parts of the Dominican in the process. I went home, I got a lot of great pictures, and I don't remember anyone's name.
However it was the first time I'd seen anything like that. It was not without a long-term, lasting effect. The reverberating impact of that experience so early in my faith has caused me to always have an emphasis in caring for the poor, the widow, and the orphan. It's been a part of joining with local homeless shelters, and creating a campaign within our local church.
I've also led trips where people experienced the poorest parts of South Africa and it still was just a tourism experience for them. I don't know that it's a bad thing to do what you're talking about, because the experiences vary so much. I doubt many are going to jump into a long-term mission situation without getting some experience, and the effectiveness of the trip, no matter how long, is a combination of the sending and receiving parties.
Just some thoughts...
i love the long term lasting effects!
that is pure, we just can't loose that purity.
It is up to every individual. Nothing is 100% pure (except God)
This post wasn't to be taken as a blanket statement...just as a personal reflection into our own lives. Some people really do serve on mission trips...others are just performing spiritual masturbation.
Thanks for checking out my site www.prodigaljohn.com. by all means, please add me to your blogroll. I will add you to mine
the guest blog is a cool idea, I have not done that on my site but I might sometime.
Jon
It is however (at least in my opinion) largely true to say that many people go on mission trips and think that the biggest sacrifice is giving up their comfortable way of life to "endure hardship" for a while among the less privileged of the world. As a Nigerian who pastors in the USA, I can tell you that no matter how much hard candy you hand out to the kids, no matter how many "gently used" clothes you distribute, no matter how many pictures you take with the "natives", they still watch you get back on a plane and jet off to your completely unrelated lifestyles, probably never even remembering the names of half the people you met. They are less interested in your "gifts" as they are in whether you really see them as equal to you in the eyes of the Lord. Make no mistake about it, the indigenous people of these nations can read your hearts.
Finally, as I end my dissertation :) I want to ask Aaron to clarify his statement "Compassion lends us to believe we are better humans than the subjects of our compassion." What does this mean? Are you suggesting that the idea of compassion is misplaced, and if so why do the Scriptures continue to tell us that Jesus was moved with compassion at the plight of the lost, the poor and the hurting?
Putting a “does" in front of that sentence would probably clarify. My post was following Branden in which the theme of this entire blog post is asking our motives. So in middle of the city dump handing out our hard candy do we as the givers feel a step or two higher on the on the human ladder? Do we think we are better than the "natives" and a follow up question would be if it's true compassion we are showing (which I 100% agree with you Jesus asks of us!!!) what are we doing about it when we get back home?
Thoughts?
Jesus said "the poor will always be with us". Unless we teach them how not to be poor (poverty is a spirit), they will be the same in x months time.
The old saying goes something like:
"Teach them to fish instead of giving them fish"
I agree with most of the comments here in one way or another. We can't blanketly say that each short term trip was for selfish gain. I also see the point of the post and how we can turn things around to make them be about "us" instead of "them". We "rough" it and think we have provided a service while sacrificing for a short time. If it stops there, then yes- that is not a good thing. If we are changed and inspired to help continue sacrificing and giving, then I think it was totally worth it. Serving others is a lifestyle- not a getaway glimpse into the lives of the poor.