Mission to Mongolia: Part I

I'm a 26 year old American guy who lived in Mongolia for the past 4 years doing ministry. I'm back now and I thought I would use this venue to write from time to time about my experiences in Mongolia.

One of the things that has always intrigued me about the gospel message is that it transcends culture. Yet at the same time, it's nearly impossible to separate our faith experience from the culture that we live in.

Having seen Christianity lived out in different parts of the world, I've really come to appreciate the diversity of our faith. Believe it or not, there are tons of little things that you and I think are central to our Christian faith that some Christians in other cultures would look at and think, "are you for real?"

One of my favorite activities to do is one that looks at our values and beliefs. "What are those core things that I believe that I would die for? And what are the things that are negotiable in my faith?" It's harder than you think to figure this stuff out.

But aside from the personal journey of asking, "What's at the core of my faith?" in doing missions, one must ask, "What part of my faith do I want to take with me? What part do I want to leave behind?"

This is the interesting but difficult task of the missionary. Paul puts it like this "To the Jew I become a Jew, to the Greek I become a Greek, I become all things to all men that by all means some might be saved." (1 Corinthians 10 Paraphrase) In other words, Paul is willing to go through some cultural identity struggles to bring the real deal and not just some kind of message layered with cultural things that ultimately are more of a distraction.

Missionaries have been getting this wrong for years. Ever heard of the Crusades? How about when Presbyterians drowned Baptists? There was a time when American Indians were told to cut their hair and dress like whites to become Christians. Today, many African churches are filled with organs from the missionaries who brought them thinking they were one of the "absolutes."

The modern mission world is filled with this...Not learning the language of the land, forcing foreign worship styles upon the people, picking natives for leadership that meet profiles of good American leaders...the list goes on.

One time a Mongolian asked me what denomination I belonged to, Baptist or Assemblies of God (the two largest groups there). When I asked her what she meant, she said, "you know, Baptists who stand up and sit down a lot and Assemblies of God who sing contemporary songs." Wow! It’s not the theological differences that stand out; it’s the extra stuff.

This kind of stuff makes me urk. Instead, good missionaries must care deeply about the culture they go into, and lovingly and carefully seek to bring the timeless, culture- transcending gospel in a culturally relevant way. They must respect the culture.

And this is in essence what I attempted to do over there, become a Mongolian for the sake of the gospel. And it was hard.

So that's what I want this blog to be about: a bit of my identity struggle of trying to become a Mongolian, some about my reflections of Mongolian Christianity, and little words of wisdom to anyone considering missions.

Stay tuned for pithy stories, interviews with Mongolians, and more...