January 29, 2007
Over 200 persons attended the GRR Mission Conference this weekend. It was truly
one of those grreat events! An incredible range of experiences and learning was
available. The planners did a wonderful job, and the volunteers at Cherry Hills excelled
in their hospitality. It is impossible to give testimony to the things that touched me
personally without it appearing that I am dismissing others. But I cannot think of any
other way to do it. So, here is a description of what is swirling in my heart after the
Conference.
Rev. Lisa Harris (Bethel Neighborhood Center, Kansas City) preached on Friday
evening. It was the best presentation of the complexities of poverty in general, and
children in poverty in particular, that I have ever heard. It was a very important teaching
moment—our entire denomination needs to hear Lisa. She challenged the
presuppositions and prejudices of many good and well-intended persons.
As Lisa talked about poverty with all its complex components—societal, educational,
economic, etc—there were two lines that really struck home. The first was, “mission is
not an extracurricular activity.”
Whether she intended it or not, the phrase stimulated two thoughts for me. Mission is
not merely another add-on to the list of possible Christian activities. If we are not
involved personally in mission and if our churches are not actively engaged in mission,
then we are skipping the core curriculum in the school of discipleship. The other
thought stimulated by the phrase is that “mission” is not just something that happens
“out there” (another meaning of “extra”). Yes, “mission” is half-way around the globe in
Durban, South Africa where Doctors Rick and Anita Gutierrez work with HIV/AIDS (and
other health issues) on our behalf. But mission is also just across the street from my
home where there are both physically and spiritually hungry women, men, boys and
girls. Mission exists in all places in between at the same time. It is blindness, if not
hypocrisy, to see the one without the other. No wonder Dr. Kristina Gutierrez
(Nicaragua) could say that the best way to raise up the next generation of missionminded
Christians is to send young persons on mission trips—first at home and then
abroad. Want to see a “real missionary?” Look in the mirror!
The second phrase that came from Lisa’s lips was spoken as she unpacked the
overwhelming nature of poverty. Given the complexity of the reality and the high
probability of any one of us does not have the skill and resources to cope with poverty,
Lisa said “At least, give them Jesus!” Is there any church anywhere that cannot do
that? (If not, I wonder if they qualify as a “church”). Jesus Christ is the rock-bottomcontent of Christian mission. Like Peter said, speaking to the crippled man at the
Beautiful Gate: I don’t have enough money to solve your problem. But I do have
Jesus—here He is! And then touched the man. Jesus Christ is the only adequate
motivator, sustainer and content of mission. The church that attempts to do mission
without Jesus Christ will sputter and stall. The church that is motivated and sustained in
mission by Jesus Christ will never exhaust its divine content.
I also appreciated the brief presentation by Doctors Anita and Rick Gutierrez (and even
more so the private conversation with them later). While their dedication and
competence was impressive, it was their expansive faith that most impressed me. I
wanted to shout when Rick stood and said “Jesus is the Lord of healing.” Clearly, he
understood the cosmic implications and consequences when we confess “Jesus is Lord
of all.”
Another presentation that especially touched me was the workshop led by Revs.
Claudia and Cristiano Barbosa. Claudia and Cristiano are co-pastors of Living Hope
Brazilian Church, a new church plant in the Kansas City area.
I was riveted by Claudia’s testimony when she described what happened when she was
a girl growing up in Brazil. Her parents came to her when she was 8 or 9 and said:
“God has called us to be missionaries to the United States. Pack your things in one
suitcase, and let’s go.” Claudia is now a second-generation missionary to the United
States. She and her husband, Christiano, are called to the immigrant Brazilian
population in this country. They discovered a growing Brazilian community in Kansas
City, and went there intentionally. The Great Rivers Region has been privileged to
partner with them in this missionary endeavor.
While this immigrant population is mostly invisible, it is not the stereotyped
impoverished community most Anglos imagine. They struggle mostly with the culture
and the legal system. The Barbosa’s are there to be with them and to share Jesus
Christ. As Cristiano said: “I cannot solve their passport problems, but I can help them
get a passport to heaven.” Their goal is “to embrace the Brazilian community with the
Word of God that heals and restores lives.”
This same immigrant church gathered up $4000 to send Claudia back to Brazil on a
mission to poor children. It was hard not to cry as she described buying bread and
packing her rental car with every scrap she could, to give abandoned and neglected
children one slice of daily bread in the Name of Jesus Christ. Along with the bread, the
children were given a cheap, toy whistle as a gift. As Claudia was driving away shrill
whistles filled the air in celebration of what God had done.
I think I heard whistles as I left the parking lot of Cherry Hills on Saturday.
View/Print this column in PDF | Archive of "Current Thoughts" Articles
© American Baptist Churches
of the Great Rivers Region
Permission to copy for noncommercial use is granted
