The Christians Are Coming!!

After spending a whole day hopping from airport to airport trying to get to Nicaragua, I realized 3 things.  

1.) I am not a fan of anything “airport”.  They are frustrating and inconvenient and I don’t enjoy being rushed from one counter to another trying to make sure that everything is as it should be.  And I hate being told when I can and can’t pee.

2.) Starbucks is everywhere…which is amazing when you’re traveling.

3.) When a Christian group is taking a missions trip, you can spot them from a hundred miles away.  Why? Bright colored t-shirts exclaiming that these are the “First Baptist Church Crusaders” on “Mission Nicaragua 2010”.  Hard to miss alongside the socks with sandals, girls in skirts (because that’s what Christian girls wear), and pleated Dockers.  And I understand the use of similar shirts or hats when traveling.  Groups are easier to keep together and locate.

Don’t take my sarcasm the wrong way.  I think that missions trips are important and that at some time or another, everyone (not just the Christians) should go on one.  They will change your life if you let them.  I have been on them, and I love going out and serving.  The problem is that we make an entrance that screams “I’m here to save the day!!”, and the “We came to love you” part gets lost behind tracks and graphic tees that are all the same.  We get wrapped up in making sure that we look the part of the good, American Christian, that we forget how little it means to those you are going to serve.  They see your agenda.

My husband joked that the Christians in the airport that were heading out to other countries were similar to the British who marched up the Eastern Coast at the start of the Revolutionary War.  They are marching right down the avenue wearing their bright red outfits, weapons in hand, giant crosses on their uniforms.  Easy to spot and know what they’re here for.  And then there’s Paul Revere riding as fast as he can to announce to the sleeping world that “The British are coming! The British are coming!!”  Not exactly the entrance the British were hoping for, I would guess. 

Is that how we look to those we are trying to serve?  A bunch of soldiers in uniform marching in with our Bibles and quick answers, ready for battle and wanting everyone to know it?  Sometimes all that’s missing is Paul Revere riding ahead to warn everyone so that they can brace for impact.  Again, don’t take my words wrong.  I’m not saying this is a representation of everyone who goes on a missions trip.  And I’m not saying that we are interested in marching in like soldiers ready for battle.  Many people go on missions trips to serve and love and take care of orphans.  Some go because they’ve never been out of the country and Mexico sounds like they have good beaches.  There are those that go out of obligation.  And there are those that go because the rest of the world is “lost” and they have to convert the masses.  To say that no one has an agenda when they are on a mission trip is both naïve and incorrect.  Everyone has an agenda.  The question is what is it and can the people see it coming.

I think the question I beg to ask is why must Christians (specifically the American ones) present themselves in a way that screams “You’re lost and I have all the answers”?  Why can’t we come in and defy the norm.  Instead of standing out because we look like a parade, why can’t we let our actions and our love speak for us?  What’s with the need to compensate?  I find it hard to believe that someone like Jesus was going around and telling people about his Father with a group of followers dressed in uniform.  He simply loved them.  He met them where they were at and never looked down on anyone.  He just was. 

So instead of heading out to other countries looking like a cheesy church group, why not try just being yourself and being the Church.  If being yourself includes black socks with sandals, then so be it. Just don’t go looking like an actor playing a role.  People want relationships.  They want you to get to know who they are and what their struggles are.  They want to be loved and prayed for.  And if you love your neighbor, as God commanded, it will speak volumes more than your cross necklaces worn as identification.

Jesus commands us to do two things: Love God. Love people.  Everything else falls into place around those 2 commands.  Don’t try to overcompensate.