Reciprocity - When we engage in mission, we learn from those we encounter!

[James Nored]

I just finished reading The Missional Church in Perspective, a work which outlines currents trends in thought in the missional conversation since the publication of Missional Church. It is an excellent reflective work--more on this book later.

 

What I want to highlight today is a theme that the authors bring out on "reciprocity." The idea of reciprocity is that those who engage in mission not only bring the gospel to those they are reaching out to, but that they also learn new insights into the gospel from those they encounter. Those on mission are learners, who benefit from the hospitality of those they enounter (Lk. 10), not just dispersers of knowledge and wisdom.

 

The authors point out that the "principle of reciprocity, or mutual transformation, in the missionary encounter has been unpacked most vivdly by the missiologist Lamin Sanneh" and that "missionary encounters on the front lines of today’s complex cultural environment bear the promise of fresh perspectives, insights, and illumination into the gospel, precisely because God is participating there long before we arrive." (p. 133-34)

 

The idea that the Spirit has been sent out ahead of us is a key part of missional theology, and if this is true (and it is), then we should not be surprised to learn from the Spirit's working in those that we encounter in mission. Experientially I have also found this to be true.

 

Every time I go through the Story of Redemption with someone, I am changed, impacted, and transformed. I am touched by the stories of those that I study with, and I find that everyone of them have a God story and can cite how God has been at work in their lives, even through difficult times. Most recently, this happened to me with a woman named Regina that I encountered at a daycare center that our small group has adopted. There this woman shared much of her life story with me, including her struggles with God and others, and said, "Hurt people hurt people." This was a profound insight and a way to better frame the hurt that we encounter from people. They hurt us because they themselves are hurting. While I know this intellectually, hearing this woman share this with me in this context (the context of her story and of the day care setting) impacted me significantly yesterday. You can read more about this here.

 

When we go into mission contexts, we should not go arrogantly or paternalistically. Yes, we have good news to share. But we also have God stories and good news to hear, and should go with the attitude that we will learn from those we encounter and also be blessed by them.

 

How have you been transformed/touched/changed by those that you have encountered in the world while on mission?

 

[James Nored]

Very true, Nell. The atonement is multi-facted, and so are God's people.

[Nell Green]

As Kenneth Cragg says: It takes a whole world to understand a whole Christ.