11:30 pm - Thursday, 14 June 2012
As my alarm went off this morning, it also came with a note that today was Flag Day (USA), a day that we Americans set aside to honor and pay tribute to our flag, a banner of our country. (Australia's is Sept. 3.) A flag is a symbol of one's allegiance to a particular country or cause, and it increases in significance when flown during a time of war or residence abroad. It serves as a reminder to the displaced citizen of their home country/cause, and it becomes a beacon of purpose to those in the surrounding region that immediately identifies who its adherents are. Flags are a thing of sentimental value, an emotional connection with a place or an idea.
All day I've been thinking about the differences between Australia and my home country of the United States of America, but I've been focusing on the differences in church culture that I've already perceived. Because I'm here on a mission trip with a Christian group, I need to focus in on my purpose in being here and what I want to accomplish. (Further considerations will be posted later this week, as I will be staying in a different host home and will have more time to think about such things and less time on the floor putting together Winnie the Pooh puzzles with a 6-year-old. :(
When I first got here, I wondered what I would be actually doing that could classify this trip as a "mission." To me, this isn't your typical mission trip. It even sounds like a borderline extended vacation, with the notable difference of volunteering five days a week in a nonprofit cafe. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that I'm here with the purpose of watching God work, even if it's not in the way I expect Him to.
At first, my mother helped me come up with the idea that I was doing a "Martha" mission--basically, I see a need, and I have the time/energy/resources to fill that need, so I go. It's focused on the physical needs of other people serving in the ministry, a focus on how I can free them up to be able to do other things. Although I still kindof think that I'm definitely here to physically help, my view has expanded (and will continue to grow as time moves--after all, I still have 6 weeks in Adelaide).
Then, I got the idea that I'm here to learn--to be a sponge, soaking up the culture and the church environment of the area. I felt that I needed to see firsthand the Aussie church, to hear the frustrations and the success stories, to know the pulse of the local church and hear opinions from those on the "front lines" in the community. I also wanted to learn the differences between the American Church where I grew up and which I understand, and the Australian Church which is entrenched in a very different war and fighting with drastically different weapons. I desire to learn the advantages and disadvantages of both, to find out what the different approaches are, and to bring back the "word from the field" to the U.S. so that we may know better how to equip, invigorate, and encourage our brothers and sisters around the world. So often we in America think that we're the only ones who have answers, we're the only ones going through this war, we're the only ones dealing with issues of complacency, apathy, isolation, or an aggressive culture. Already I have seen firsthand that we are definitely NOT the only ones struggling in this battle of "intellectual religion" and ethical fluidity.
The overwhelming feeling that I'm getting (the more I think about this, the stronger it gets) is that I'm here to provide support and encouragement to a church that is discouraged and getting worn out. Over the past couple of weeks, I've gotten the sense that the small Christian community in this area is being worn thin. Their ideas aren't working, and they're not seeing the fruit they expected from their ministry. (And not just Soul Food--other ministries, as well.) So far, my impression is that the Australian Church is fighting a new battle with old weapons that are outmoded and ineffective. The Australian Church is having to learn the difficult way how to go out and reach out to the community, rather than waiting for it to come to them and their programs. This is not a new struggle--I think the global Church is constantly having to figure it out--but it's a very real, very prevalent daily war that the Aussie Christians are fighting. And they need reassurance that what they're doing is not in vain.
Which brings me back to Flag Day. For a couple of months this year, I am learning what it's like to literally be a stranger in a foreign land. I'm completely out of my element, totally without the comfort of my family and friends, and devoid of the level of independence to which I've been accustomed for years. I'm without my church family, and I'm minus a paying job. I'm not used to the culture, I don't understand most of the popular references, and I still don't get the television advertisements (then again, not many people do--Aussies make some weird TV commercials). It's been a long, LONG time since I didn't get a joke. I have allegiances and roots in a completely different part of the world, something that's going to become blatantly apparent next month during the 2012 Olympic Games. I'm going to be proudly cheering my country on, despite being surrounded by people who are supportive of one of our competitors.
But isn't that what it's like to be a Christian on Planet Earth? After one becomes a follower of Christ, s/he exists in a world that becomes completely foreign to them. Their allegiance and fealty is sworn to a different place, one that is in constant struggle with the place where they actually physically live. A follower of Christ on Planet Earth is surrounded by people who do not agree with them and actually sometimes go on the attack against them. Even sometimes a follower of Christ loses the support of their family and friends, simply on the grounds that they are now from different worlds and "cheer" for different teams. To be an alien in a foreign land is the daily life of a devoted follower of Christ.
But our life is found in Christ. We cheer on God the Father. And our banner is the Holy Spirit.
For the next few days, if I happen to cross your mind, or if you chance to think about Australia and what God is doing here, please pray for your brothers and sisters here. They desperately need your support and encouragement (and if you feel led to do so, I can pass along notes of encouragement to some of them). They are tired, worn thin, and out of ideas. The older generation is watching sadly as their system of life and way of living is deteriorating; the middle generation is caught inbetween an outdated way of doing ministry and a new problem of assimilation; and the younger generation is facing an increasingly complicated tangle of how to follow Christ in a world rife with situational ethics and universal salvation theology. They need you, their fellow adherents to the Way and followers of the banner of Christ, to remember them and pray for them.
More on this topic in the coming weeks. God is showing me some crazy big stuff...
Thanks for sharing. Praying!
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