Has cross-cultural work been overly tarnished by colonialism? Many think so. I was once asked in a meeting, “Why should our friend get involved in this work when the history of working overseas is replete with so many mistakes?”
This objection is a common one. Many people believe that overseas workers of the past were religious imperialists. With such a checkered history, it is only natural to ask why anyone should get involved. Why participate in a global movement that is so fundamentally flawed?
It is without a doubt that God’s global enterprise has always faced challenges. Why? Because God chose to partner with his people in his global mission. And his people, of course, are imperfect. We, as God’s people, may be well-intentioned, but we make mistakes and are limited in our understanding.
However, the reality is still that God has chosen to use us – and he is well aware of our imperfections and limitations. Apparently, he was willing to make adjustments along the way to accommodate and affirm those who love him and those he loves.
Additionally, it is important to remember that the imperfection of God’s people is nothing new. Even the early church faced significant limitations in its understanding.
Staying in Jerusalem
Jesus told his apostles that they were to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). However, the book of Acts shows us that the apostles and the church were slow and at times even reluctant to cross ethnic, social, and religious boundaries in order to obey Jesus’ command. After Pentecost, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem.
The events recorded in Acts 1-7 happen in Jerusalem. It was not until the church in Jerusalem experienced widespread persecution that believers moved out and took the Word to the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1, 4). However, the apostles still remained in Jerusalem.
In fact, the apostles did not branch out of Jerusalem until the incident in Samaria, where the Holy Spirit did not descend upon those who believed (8:14-16). When Peter and John prayed and saw the Spirit descend upon the Samaritans, they changed their perspective. They took their time on the way back to Jerusalem and preached the Word to many of the Samaritan villages (8:25).
Struggling to Obey
In Acts, we also see Peter’s reluctance to cross ethnic and religious boundaries. When he was told to go to Cornelius’ house, he went. But after arriving, he reminded the Gentiles that it was unlawful for Jews to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation (10:28). This was not a polite way to start out a relationship, but Peter apparently needed to express how he felt. He was crossing a significant boundary. It was so significant a boundary that others in the church objected (11:2-3). So, a meeting was held to mollify the objections to what Peter had done (11:1-18).
Though God had worked through Peter and encouraged the Jewish believers to cross this ethnic-religious boundary, we discover that this was difficult for them. This boundary separating Jews from the Gentiles around them was deeply embedded within Jewish consciousness. In Acts 11:19 we read that “those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except the Jews.” The church, even though it had Jesus’ command in Acts 1:8, found it difficult to cross this boundary.
Those who were able were not Jews who had grown up in Jerusalem. It was those who had grown up outside of Jerusalem and Judea, the Hellenistic Jews. Not surprisingly, Stephen and Phillip were Hellenistic Jews. Acts 11:20 shows that it was the Hellenistic Jews who helped erode this boundary. We read that Jews from Cyprus and Cyrene, Hellenistic Jews, on coming to Antioch spoke the Word to the Hellenists (Greek: Helenistas). These Hellenists were likely Gentiles who were in some way associated with the Jewish community, possibly on their way to becoming proselytes.
In response to this move of God through the Hellenistic believers, the apostles did not go themselves. Rather, they sent Barnabas, a Hellenistic Jew from Cyprus (see 4:36).
Old ways of thinking and acting are hard to stop. Even though God used Peter to open the door to the Gentiles for the gospel, Peter still got it wrong, even after spending a good amount of time in Caesarea (12:19). When some men came to Antioch, sent by James, Peter stopped eating with the Gentiles (Galatians 2:11-12).
Recognizing Our Limitations
From the start, God’s mission has faced challenges. And it will always face challenges. The perspective of the apostles and early believers was limited, and it was also somewhat flawed. It took time for the apostles and early believers to understand what God was doing and adapt to it. Some never could.
We are no different. Our perspective is limited as well. Furthermore, we are much more global in outreach than the early church was. The contexts in which we find ourselves engaged are ever-changing and ever-expanding, which makes navigating new contexts even more complex.
While all of this is true, it is important to remember that while we have made many mistakes, we have also have done many things well. Likewise, it is important to remember God’s desire and plan to accomplish good through us. This ought to compel us to learn from our mistakes, recognize our blind spots, and reflect on what we do and how we do it.
Relying on the Spirit
Our past mistakes, plus our current weaknesses and limitations, should not be a source of discouragement. Though we are limited, we are never alone. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us as we seek to faithfully represent him in our world. The Spirit uses the Word and our ever-changing contexts to shape our responses.
Our checkered history, then, does not give us license to disengage from participation in God’s global vision. However, it ought to serve as a sobering reminder for us to walk in humility and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Just as the apostles demonstrated, we ought to continually challenge our assumptions and the ways we do our work. And we must, in a continually-changing world, maintain a posture of humble learning.