Western Missionary Mistakes

After a confidential  survey done by an “outsider” this is what was said about American missionaries.

What the Evangelical Romanians think about American Missionaries

• First Missionaries brought the gospel but then others came bringing their denominationalism and extreme doctrines.
• Either intentionally or unintentionally missionaries left us with the impression that Foreigners are superior to Romanians.
• Coming and making Romanians  sub-servient to their programs.
• Being so strongly convinced about their own ideas that Nationals feel that taking advantage of missionaries and their budgets is justified by their own sense of rejection and resentment.
• Saying many times that they came to serve but actually only functioning in the role of a supervisor, i.e. many missionaries become employers of nationals.
• Passing on materialistic values through the example of the missionaries own life.
• Living in their own world of ideas to the point of being taken advantage of by less then honest nationals.
• Expecting Romanian partners to live a long way below the level missionaries are living at has lead to a lot of resentment and bitterness.  The Romanians have covered this up so that they don’t loose the financial benefits that they are getting. This has lead to a lot of distorted relationships and ministry partnerships.
• Missionaries coming with unbending ideas and philosophies. Not listening to Nationals (this response came up everytime)
• Superior attitude toward nationals
• Isolating themselves from Nationals. Having their own churches and attempting to remain exclusive
• Not open to co-operated with other national churches
• Sensationalizing the ministry. Throwing bibles and other materials out to people in church while taking pictures of people scrambling to catch something.
• Coming with very strong and unrealistic ambitions and trying to force things to happen for the sake of “results”
• Manipulating Romanian partners with the threat of loosing their salaries
• Going beyond what God told them to do in order to make things appear more “fruitful” for their supporters.
• Seeing all nationals as unskilled in the Bible and not knowing Jesus. Speaking in such a way that they actually insulted those they were trying to teach. (Not knowing personally the people they were trying to minister to)
• Coming with personal agenda’s rather than spiritual goals
• Staying ignorant of cultural norms and values
• Not learning the Language
• Forming partnerships with nationals to quickly has led to many good missionaries working with and being represented by Romanians that have long had bad reputations.  This has lead to their own ministry being tarnished and many times, missionaries forming very bad opinions of Romanians church leaders.
• Accepting bribes as cultural rather than for what it really is…..sin!
• Forcing Nationals in non-essential cultural issues- “everybody has to smile if you want to be a good Christian”
• Not being wise with money, being seen as wasteful.
• Throwing money at problems rather that asking is there something else that needs to happen here.
• Missionaries start with blind trust for everybody (pendulum on the left side), they get burnt a few times and then finish with total mistrust for everybody, (pendulum on the right side).
• Missionaries come to Romania with some very romantic and naïve ideas
• Becoming distracted by the many call for help leads to missionaries doing things that would seem God didn’t call them to do
• The corruption that missionaries have experienced in the church has lead them to becoming  very untrusting of nationals.  This has caused a lot of ill feeling where the nationals feel looked down upon an seen as stupid people who can’t be trusted.
• Presenting a “know-it-all” attitude when it comes to teachings and opinions
• Being unwilling to listen to so called “Romanian Partners”
• Being so culturally different that they alienate themselves from the average Romanian
• Not following up financial investments with personal accountability has inadvertently promoted even more corruption. Missionary organizations that dump money and leave with no real relationship has proved to be more harmful then helpful.
• Coming with outside pressure to perform on the mission field, leading some missionaries to push things in the ministry and even become controlling. This causes resentment and resistance.
• Exaggerating reports to back home leaving people with a wrong impression of the work here in Romania
• Many missionaries never consider adjusting their own lifestyles a little to more resemble that of the people they are trying living among.
• Making big promises and forgetting to come through with them.

I wanted NOT to post this because it is so convicting but so true. MAY GOD in heaven show us a better way to work with our national brothers and sisters.   This sword unfortunately cuts both ways as we could begin talking about what we see wrong with the culture also but that is just not the point of this post!  Let us look in the mirror and do our best to ask God to take from our hearts and show us a different way to reach the lost orthodox without making so many mistakes.  May our National Brothers continue to show us grace and mercy in these areas.   Please forgive us…..