When we were Home Missionaries, we were treated terribly and were expected to give to EVERY department to prove we were "cooperating". Foreign Missionaries are held up high and Home Missionaries are the dung on the feet of the American Church. I know that's strong, it's just my opinion.
My Dad always complained about how home missionaries were treated; this isn't a new problem. And I have no bone to pick with this point. However, the fact that the home missions department of the UPCI has unresolved issues doesn't really have much to do with the sacrifices (which may be completely different in nature) that foreign missionaries make.
I am in complete agreement that home missionaries make sacrifices for their calling. They should be as "romanticized" as foreign missionaries, IMO. No one needs to tear down foreign missionaries to make that point. It's very hard to start a work from the ground up, whether at home or abroad. I think the difference is that foreign missionaries have to completely leave their homes and families and in some cases, pull up their children from their roots and be gone for a very long time. In some ways it can be an adventure; in other ways, it is a huge sacrifice--even with full financial support.
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"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
My Dad always complained about how home missionaries were treated; this isn't a new problem. And I have no bone to pick with this point. However, the fact that the home missions department of the UPCI has unresolved issues doesn't really have much to do with the sacrifices (which may be completely different in nature) that foreign missionaries make.
I am in complete agreement that home missionaries make sacrifices for their calling. They should be as "romanticized" as foreign missionaries, IMO. No one needs to tear down foreign missionaries to make that point. It's very hard to start a work from the ground up, whether at home or abroad. I think the difference is that foreign missionaries have to completely leave their homes and families and in some cases, pull up their children from their roots and be gone for a very long time. In some ways it can be an adventure; in other ways, it is a huge sacrifice--even with full financial support.
Like I said, my post has nothing to do with this thread, really so I am not arguing for or against what is contained in it. I was just giving my opinion as someone who experienced Home Missions first hand.
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Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it. ~Chinese Proverb
When I was young and clever, I wanted to change the world. Now that I am older and wiser, I strive to change myself. ~
If this thread is about Sis. A, and I'm not going to read the whole thread to find out, Sis. A is one of my favorites on here. She has only been very kind to me.
Foreign Missions is romanticized. That is a fact. Home Missionaries are treated badly. That is also a fact.
I think I'm going to extract myself from whatever is happening here now.
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Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it. ~Chinese Proverb
When I was young and clever, I wanted to change the world. Now that I am older and wiser, I strive to change myself. ~
If this thread is about Sis. A, and I'm not going to read the whole thread to find out, Sis. A is one of my favorites on here. She has only been very kind to me.
Foreign Missions is romanticized. That is a fact. Home Missionaries are treated badly. That is also a fact.
I think I'm going to extract myself from whatever is happening here now.
Something can be a fact, but not a universal fact. Is Foreign Missions overly romanticized by some? Perhaps. Are Home Missionaries treated badly by some? I would have to say yes. This still does not warrant blanket statements that would suggest that these are universal facts and truths. I think we have to be very careful to not project our experiences and resulting perspectives on everybody else.
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There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
Something can be a fact, but not a universal fact. Is Foreign Missions overly romanticized by some? Perhaps. Are Home Missionaries treated badly by some? I would have to say yes. This still does not warrant blanket statements that would suggest that these are universal facts and truths. I think we have to be very careful to not project our experiences and resulting perspectives on everybody else.
Exactly!
Thanks for a reasonable post on the matter.
__________________ "It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity." Dave Barry 2005
I am a firm believer in the Old Paths
Articles on such subjects as "The New Birth," will be accepted, whether they teach that the new birth takes place before baptism in water and Spirit, or that the new birth consists of baptism of water and Spirit. - THE PENTECOSTAL HERALD Dec. 1945
"It is doubtful if any Trinitarian Pentecostals have ever professed to believe in three gods, and Oneness Pentecostals should not claim that they do." - Daniel Segraves
Something can be a fact, but not a universal fact. Is Foreign Missions overly romanticized by some? Perhaps. Are Home Missionaries treated badly by some? I would have to say yes. This still does not warrant blanket statements that would suggest that these are universal facts and truths. I think we have to be very careful to not project our experiences and resulting perspectives on everybody else.
I think it's pretty obvious that these statements are not 100% universal. I think it's also obvious that they are basically true.
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Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it. ~Chinese Proverb
When I was young and clever, I wanted to change the world. Now that I am older and wiser, I strive to change myself. ~
I think it's pretty obvious that these statements are not 100% universal. I think it's also obvious that they are basically true.
My point is that they are not anywhere near 100% universal...which is why you have to be careful when you make blanket statements like "Foreign Missions is romanticized" and "Home missionaries are treated badly".
As written, those read as universal blanket statement, and do not read well with those who know them not to be universally true.
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There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
My point is that they are not anywhere near 100% universal...which is why you have to be careful when you make blanket statements like "Foreign Missions is romanticized" and "Home missionaries are treated badly".
As written, those read as universal blanket statement, and do not read well with those who know them not to be universally true.
Well, I am going to have to disagree with you there. I do think they are generally true. I was a home missionary for 5 years. The implication that I do not know the statement to be true is kind of laughable. I do believe the statements are generally true or I would not have made them.
I also think that most foreign missionaries do not feel a sense of entitlement. But I have met some who do.
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Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it. ~Chinese Proverb
When I was young and clever, I wanted to change the world. Now that I am older and wiser, I strive to change myself. ~
Hybrid Mode
