We have to let go of the idea that being a missionary is about changing people, and embrace the idea that it is about accompanying people. It is not a title of honor; it is a posture of humility.
So, is the term “missionary” dead? Or is it simply waiting for a reboot? Let’s not skip the hard part. The traditional missionary movement has a complicated legacy. For every hospital built or school founded, there was often a culture erased. The unspoken assumption was often: Your way is wrong; our way is right. The goal was to save souls, but the method frequently involved erasing identity. Missionary
Yes. But only if we let it be broken.
A missionary is not someone who brings something to a community, but someone who is willing to have something taken away . We have to let go of the idea
And that, I think, is a mission worth keeping. Or is it simply waiting for a reboot
That core is still beautiful. It is the doctor who leaves a comfortable city practice to treat river blindness in a remote village. It is the teacher who learns a difficult language just to read stories to children who have never held a book. It is the engineer who digs wells not for a contract, but for the quiet joy of clean water.
The best missionaries in history weren't the ones who built the biggest churches. They were the ones who learned the local word for "pain" before they learned the local word for "sin." Here is my proposal for the 21st-century missionary mindset. I call it The Law of Subtraction .