Gospel on the periphery? Principle 8: Avoid paternalism

Avoid paternalism and dependency

Many prominent misiologists in the West have been dealing with paternalism in intercultural contexts for decades. What exactly is paternalism?

Is the essence of paternalism the provision of direction and resources for someone from the outside?Mature.
For someone considered?and still unable to take full responsibility for leadership.
While it’s more than just providing money.
Money is a formidable force for paternalism.

It was a problem I struggled with in Brazil when I established the Boas Novas Church. We wanted to quickly pass all responsibility to a Brazilian pastor, but many missionaries thought I would have to stay longer to “train and develop. “I was 31 years old, only 8 years old, it was my first settlement in the church, I spoke basic Portuguese and had limited pastoral experience. The man they wanted me to train?He was almost 50 years old, a Christian for more than 20, a pastor for at least 20 to 5 years old, a professor of Greek and Hebrew at a local seminary and wanted to resume pastoral work in the church. Who was to be trained and developed? The thing is, I was white, Western and had a few extra kilos in the bank, which somehow qualified me more than my Brazilian friend. They were wrong and I left.

Paternalism can be a danger on the periphery, especially when middle-class Christians may seem superior to those who have not had the same basic education or even who have not read as many books as they. You can see the people here as inferior and in need of their particular types of piety and spiritual experience. At Niddrie, I work hard to let people know that we are all equal in God’s eyes and that some of us have specific talents. The point is that all who come to Christ have been saved to serve, and that is why the Holy Spirit empowers, equips, and gifts all of them so that they can better serve the Lord. The key is not to exalt one gift above others, but to discover the gifts of each individual. Do we need to give people a chance to serve, instead of waiting for them to be ready in some way? or feel that they have organized all areas of their life. Otherwise, we will wait a long time for it to develop at any level of the periphery. Paternalism (closely related to control) is a safe game, but it generally results in stunting, both for the individual involved and for witnessing the gospel in the community. Many churches and Christian organizations work on this principle. Many mercy ministries do a great job reaching out to the poor, but then leave them idle when it comes to discipleship and service. The number of churches that call me because they have contacted one person and don’t have the time, resources, or experience? (his word) the disciple is, frankly, ashamed. This is not to say that we should not help each other in partnership (many people have to leave the periphery where they live to grow and develop), but churches must ask themselves how many people from poor communities have had the opportunity to do something else. . to put away the chairs on Sunday. How many poor Christians are training to be leaders in the UK? How much of the problem in the UK is that, in fact, if we are honest, much of what is known as achievement is actually paternalism in disguise?

Closely related to this is the problem of addiction. Once we reach out to people and they become part of the community (as Christians or not), we must teach them to take responsibility for their own lives. The risk for many outlying ministries is that they can be addictive. The government (and society) is now paying the price with our current aid system. In the Old Testament, in particular, we read that God taught his people to care for the poor, but we also read in Deuteronomy 24 and Leviticus 19 that he taught the principle of? so they can take care of themselves. Yes, we must try to serve the needs of our people (Christians) first and only after those of the wider community, but we must also try to create mechanisms through which people can work to improve their own situation (we offer several incentives for this in Niddrie). If they are not ready to find ways (in partnership with us) to improve their own lives, we are not ready to do it for them. I think we are on a solid biblical basis with this approach to both evangelism and discipleship here.

We made mistakes in this area in Niddria, but God thanked us. I pray that this will continue to be the case, because we will make more mistakes in the future. Sometimes things get complicated on the periphery and there’s no easy answer. Sometimes there are. Quick solutions (rarely), but it’s often hard work. People just want to get out of the moment of pain they’re experiencing and our instinct is to do it for them, but we have to be brave enough to see the whole situation and not just put a bandage on an open wound. God helps us by reaching out to the many in need on our doorstep, to glorify God, to honor the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to serve our community, and to allow those who need it, in partnership with us, to help themselves, so that they can return it to society one way or another, rather than simply receiving it all the time.

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