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It used to be that when people thought of “missionaries,” the image that came to mind was of men going off into dark jungles to live among tribal people in a primitive, pre-industrial culture. This concept has changed over the years as missionaries have reported back to churches from savanna grasslands, major metropolitan areas and everywhere in between. Still, the second time I went to Brazil one of the first-timers (who, by the way, had missed the pre-trip orientation) was nearly shocked to discover we were in a teeming city of hundreds of thousands (Belo Horizonte) and not in a village along the Amazon. All he’d ever heard of that vast South American country involved rainforests, something almost as far from the daily reality of most Brazilians as it is of most Americans. Brazil is a large, populous country with a powerhouse emerging economy that is counted as part of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
Brazil is a connected nation. When I moved to Brazil in 2001 I had to take a bus across town in Uberlândia to use the Internet at a cybercafe. By the time I was able to go online at my house (via dial-up) there were cybercafes all over the city. Now I hear that broadband is becoming common in many homes. Even many of the favelas of Rio and São Paulo are finding their way online, legally or illegally, in much they way that they’ve managed over the years to tap into the power grid.
Still, vast inequalities continue to dominate in Brazil. The strongly centralized governmental system concentrates a great deal of power in few hands, and the bloated governmental bureaucracy at all levels opens the doors to immense corruption. The situation is arguably better than in times past, and certainly an improvement over the inhumane leadership of the military dictatorship that dominated for decades, but hundreds of thousands are slipping through the cracks.
What keeps a poor boy from a life of theft and drug dealing? How can a girl from a home where more than one meal is a luxury find a way to avoid the lure of prostitution? Strong, united families can overcome these obstacles, but throughout the poorest neighborhoods of Brazil (and even some of the less-poor) dysfunctional homes and a pervading sense of hopelessness with the status quo proves too much for many young people.
A resource-rich nation with a creative, entrepreneurial population like Brazil can do better. The elements are all there, it’s just a matter of organizing them and bringing them together. Sometimes the missing piece is simply the Good News that Jesus is Lord. That alone can forge a new community of disciples that labors for the hearts of the lost and the future of a nation.
Brazil is a nation with a broad but shallow Roman Catholic culture. It isn’t unheard of at all for children to take Bible stories to school and have them read aloud. A generally tolerant nation, no offense to other belief systems is intended by the implicit acceptance of Catholic culture. It’s simply a part of life.
With a common identity shared by many in a Christian tradition, it is no wonder that the Bible is widely respected and evangelicalism continues to grow as the biblical message is preached and taught. In my own experience I rarely encountered any resistance when I referred to the Bible as a primary source of religious authority.
In such a context, where infrastructure is being built (albeit unevenly) and can be tapped into, where profound inequalities are known to exist and readily admitted, and where the claims of Christ can unify a vital group of disciples, great good can be accomplished. Brazil has a lot going for it. I believe that with the right community development strategy, including English and tech training courses together with a missionally-impelled program of Bible training, the lives of many can be transformed. Homes, neighborhoods and even entire cities can feel the positive impact of the reign of Christ.
I want very much to be a part of ministering on this emerging grid.
Thirteen years ago yesterday you were born, and a year ago today you were born from above. Happy Birthday for both.
Daddy loves you.
Set aside 40 minutes to watch this video about the dump in Honduras where good work is being done for the poor in the name of Christ. Watch it all the way through to the end for the full effect, and to see how this goes beyond immediate relief into a search for sustainable solutions that can be applied elsewhere throughout the developing world.
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” - Isaiah 58:6-7 NRSV
“When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” - Luke 4:16-21 NRSV
When I first read “What Makes Charity Work” way back in 2002 I was in Brazil, halfway through my first, short-lived attempt at long-term mission work. Though I loved Brazil, or perhaps because of that love, I was deeply frustrated by the social inequalities and deep corruption in that nation, much of which I attributed to excessive governance (that’s still more-or-less my view, though tempered and mellowed now). Within that context this book made perfect, undeniable sense. Lately, however, I gave it a re-read. It’s lost something of its shine in my eyes over the past few years.
There is a lot of good in this book, a compilation of essays by different writers, edited and introduced by Myron Magnet. I find the story of “Dagger” John Hughes, the first archbishop of New York, particularly inspiring. This was the first essay in the book and, in my opinion, the strongest. Dagger John was presented as a no-nonsense, hard-as-nails and tirelessly committed worker for the good of the poor in New York City, particularly the Irish. The accomplishment of essentially “civilizing” the Irish immigrant population in roughly a generation is nothing to mock or ignore.
Still, in this and at least one other essay, I found the pro-Catholic tone a little distracting. In one of the essays a conversion to Catholicism was treated as the reasonable result of a search for the truth, acting upon available data. Please.
The pro-Catholic tone of the essays naively ignores a glaring and sad reality facing the Roman Catholic Church in our times: child abuse. I can’t help but wonder how many children in those Catholic orphanages and schools were subjected to abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to be helping them. Then again, as in any human-made system, evil is bound to be present somewhere. As I mentioned above, the net result of the efforts of Dagger John and Catholics in 1800s New York was little short of miraculous.
“What Makes Charity Work” is a very political and ideological book, veering heavily into minarchist libertarianism at nearly every possible turn. With essays from different writers the result is sometimes less than harmonious, with some essays complaining about the evils of any public system, and others calling either for their reform or even (in one case) celebrating the creation of laws to defend the poor.
One of my main objections to the overall tone and direction of this book is that faith cannot be restricted merely to the private sphere. The call to repentance, whether from the Hebrew prophets or Jesus of Nazareth, has always demanded more than a change in personal religious beliefs. It is a summons to genuine, wholehearted obedience to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Christian faith in particular does not have the luxury of being either public or private. It must embrace both spheres of life.
What I liked most about this book was the emphasis on the great good “regular” people can do, as well as the connection between morality and poverty. Though many times poverty is the result of outside oppression, sometimes the oppression comes from within through addictions and other vices.
If you choose to read this book, I suggest you also read Walter Wink’s excellent “The Powers That Be.” This latter title will provide much-needed balance and theological insight.
My formal education and professional experience, after high school, was mostly in Christian ministry. Although I have an associates in General/Liberal Arts from Moberly Area Community College, my bachelor’s from Harding University is in ministry. I preached for churches while in college and then went to Brazil for a few years as a missionary. Though both my brothers work in different fields of technology, I never really considered that area. For a long time I thought the full extent of my “non-ministerial” work would be in teaching English as a Second/Foreign language. When I considered alternative forms of ministry, it usually involved ESL/EFL. Over the past few years of living and working in the greater New York metro area, this has changed.
I’ve gone from B2B customer service, to mobile data support and then into wearing many hats at a tech startup in Manhattan. Ubuntu Linux has replaced Microsoft Windows in my home, and the command line is now almost second nature to me. I can now say that Ruby is my first programming language (hopefully of what will become a handful of languages) and Ruby on Rails has been fun to begin learning. A few years ago I knew virtually no one, other than my brothers, in the tech field. Now, through NYLUG and other local meetups I have several good friends and contacts in this area.
As I’ve said recently, I’d like to eventually go back to Brazil. When I think of what would be involved I don’t imagine doing what I did before. Something more like what Jon “maddog” Hall is advocating comes to mind. Open source solutions and tech training for sustainable community development projects in Brazil that help lift people out of poverty…that’s what I want to be about.
At this point I’m not fully prepared for the task of tech training and advocacy in Brazil. That’s where work experience right now comes into play.
My time at that Internet startup in Manhattan gave me a place to begin, a basic skill set upon which I can build professionally, with an eye toward doing good in South America.
If you know of any full-time positions in or around Manhattan where I could utilize my customer service, tech support and/or training skills together possibly with my fundamental understanding of QA and object-oriented programming, in a work environment were I would be encouraged to learn more, let me know. I’m more than happy to work my way to the level of training and experience I’ll need to really make a difference.
John "maddog" Hall preparing to speak at DebConf10
Around the middle of last year I wrote about Brazil as “somplace wired.” Though a developing nation, it has a power grid and it is possible to get online there. I mentioned in that post something Jon “maddog” Hall was reported to have said in a talk about open source tech in developing nations. Essentially, he said there was nothing he could do for the child in the vast nothing of extremely rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear him say this in person at DebConf 2010. His idea for what can be done for people living in urban poverty, beginning in Brazil, may be just what I’ve been trying to find for part of my own future work in community development.
Project Cauã is an attempt at launching a fully sustainable, environmentally-sound means by which the urban poor of Brazil can support themselves as system administrators. Rather than being job training for a corporate position (of which there are few and for which there is great competition already), this project captures the entrepreneurial spirit of the Brazilian people. When I lived in Brazil I knew people who made candy at home to sell in the street and even saw a man fixing umbrellas in the street downtown. Brazilians in general are quite creative about dealing with hardship and finding ways to make a living.
As I understand it, the basic idea of Project Cauã is as follows:
- Train a person on how to administrate Linux systems and a Wifi network, to the point where he or she can be legally certified, licensed and bonded (this matters a great deal in bureaucracy-heavy Brazil, and I would argue is a vital step in breaking the underlying chain of corruption that exists on all levels in that country).
- That person goes to the bank and gets a small business loan to by the hardware, including thin-clients computers that operate on GNU/Linux. These computers, using already-available components, would consume less power by design and be far more environmentally friendly than the usual Windows desktop.
- The newly-minted sysadmin takes leases out the hardware and admin services to local users. For example, office buildings in São Paulo are often full of multiple, small companies. A sysadmin could lease services and equipment to users in the building, working from a small office or even the basement. In a residential area the sysadmin would be able to do the same for neighbors.
Figuring in Internet access, payments on the loan and other expenses, “maddog” figures system administrators could make as much as $1800 a month. This might not sound like much to us in the United States, but in Brazil $1000 is about what an entry-level system administrator can expect to make in a company, perhaps as much as $2000 if he or she is really good.
There is more to this than what I’m describing, but that’s the bare-bones outline. It may seem idealistic, but it’s entirely “doable” and makes a great deal of sense in the context of Brazilian economics and civil society. It should also be obvious how this could serve as a key element in an overall community development strategy. I’ve wondered for a long time how open source tech could be used effectively to break the cycle of poverty in a sustainable way in Brazil, and now I think I’ve come upon it in Project Cauã. I’ll investigate further and, hopefully, find a way to go forward with this strategy.
This past June I had the opportunity to attend Reload 1.2.3., a training day for youth workers. It was held simultaneously in three locations: Jersey City, Manhattan and Queens. The Queens location was apparently the primary site, from which the main sessions were transmitted. I attended at the Manhattan location on the Nyack city campus.
For the general sessions it may have been better to have been at the Queens location. These were transmitted and displayed on a large screen at the two other locations. A couple of times the signal failed and we missed significant portions of the conversations. Fortunately, both sessions are available online for free (see below).
Workshops were available during the day covering a rage of youth ministry concerns. It was a great pleasure to attend the two community development workshops led by José and Mayra Humphreys. José is the pastor of Metro Hope Church in Harlem. Community development is an area of ministry I hope to understand more fully for future ministry in Brazil, and their knowledge of and passion for community transformation made the workshops all the more meaningful.
The price for this day-long event was incredibly reasonable, only $25 for two general sessions, two workshop sessions, continental breakfast and a sandwich lunch. My only regret is that I didn’t take my wife along.
Overall it was a good experience, and one I’ll be glad to repeat in coming years.
On June 15, 1997 I made a commitment to prepare myself for lifetime mission service in Brazil. A few years later, in January 2001, I thought I was making good on that pledge to God. I had worked fast and hard for a Bachelor of Ministry degree through Harding University’s School of Biblical Studies program. I had raised support, and to provide for what might be lacking I took a distance learning course to teach English as a Foreign Language in Brazil for part of my support. In February 2001 I married the love of my life, Christiane. A Brazilian (now also naturalized American), she brought companionship and greater joy to my walk with Christ. Together we have two children. Now, a little over nine years after my move to Brazil, we live in New Jersey. What happened?
Much of the specifics I covered in an earlier post. I hadn’t completed all of the preparation I had decided was necessary that evening in June 1997. Further, my perspective was skewed. Ministry to me was not the full-blooded, holistic application of the Good News of Jesus. Instead, it was a matter of correcting people’s incorrect religious ideas and baptizing them into Christ. That was pretty much it.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong and quite a bit right about teaching the Word of God and immersing people into Christ. This work is essential to the mission of God. This along is simply too 2-dimensional. The Good News has the power to deliver people from sin and sorrow, but it needs to be lived out in diverse ways to reach people in all conditions of life. This message of God coming in the form of a servant should inspire disciples of Jesus to their own works of service, declaring in word and deed that the kingdom has come, the new creation breaking into this world bringing with it new life and the promise of a future hope in resurrection and New Heavens/New Earth.
The world needs this word. Brazil needs this word. The powers and authorities need to be reminded, however they might deny, mock or ignore, that God alone is sovereign and Jesus is Lord.
What on earth am I doing in the United States? At this point, I would say I am coming back to myself, realizing that recovery from past hurts needs to be brought to closure and preparation for the future needs to take place. At the same time, I am more than a little worried. Time has passed. Does God still have a place for me in Brazil? Looking through photos my brother-in-law Marcelo sent of church activities this year in Uberlândia, I see familiar faces, but also quite a few unfamiliar ones. Things aren’t as we left them in late 2003 when my wife and I moved our family to the States. She
and our kids have been back there twice since then. I haven’t returned yet. It feels as though something inside me is preventing it.
In 2012 the World Convention is scheduled to take place in Goiania. This event, held every four years, is the global gathering of people from churches with roots in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. I’ve said often that I plan to attend. I hope I’ll be able to do so. Now, though, another thought is crossing my mind. What if 2012 marked my family’s return to the mission in Brazil?
Pray with me on this, would you? Discernment is needed, and answers won’t come overnight.
Here’s the song I heard in church that evening in June, 1997 during communion. At the time I didn’t understand the words, but it spoke straight to my heart. When I learned the meaning of the lyrics, which speak of power misused, justice for the downtrodden and a call to look up to “the Just Judge,” I was in awe but not too surprised.
See Also:
What follows is something that I wrote in 2003, at a far different point in my life as a Christian. Recently as I’ve thought about the World Convention to be held in Goiania, Brazil in 2010, this essay came to mind. Although I no longer agree with the tone of what I wrote, the fact remains that there is deep division in Brazil among churches of the Stone-Campbell movement. This is a division with which I cannot entirely disagree. Since the pentecostal Churches of Christ in Brazil appear to be the ones most supportive of World Convention, it seems obvious that neither the International Churches of Christ nor a cappella Churches of Christ will want to be involved. I find this both logical and lamentable…an uncomfortable mix of attitudes, to say the least.
The Truth About Christian Churches/Churches of Christ Missions in Brazil
“…that they may all be one…so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21 Updated NASB).
“…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3 Updated NASB).
Too often, in my opinion, those promoting unity in the Restoration Movement seem willing to do so at the expense of the “faith once delivered.” I’ve seen this serving among the independent instrumental churches as well as among the brethren of a cappella churches.
Perhaps you’ve never noticed, but Christians have a tendency to support projects and missions overseas that they would never think of supporting in the United States. It’s as though, somehow, the rules change once you leave U.S. territory. Saddest of all is when the churches don’t even bother to verify whether what they are supporting is in line with what they believe. Someone appears asking for financial help, says the right spiritual-sounding words, and the checkbooks and purses open up. If not asked at the outset, rarely are questions asked later about details of faith.
Beginning in the 1960s, the instrumental and a cappella churches of Christ in Brazil cooperated to a certain extent. Most notably, the missionaries from both branches of the movement met in annual missionary retreats. A spirit of brotherhood and unity is said to have prevailed for a while, although some a cappella missionaries expressed disappointment that “the instrument issue” wasn’t being discussed. One year, however, one of the instrumental missionaries gave a talk in which he promoted an embrace of Pentecostalism in order to advance mission work. Controversy ensued, and the joint meetings were ended completely. Pentecostalism swept like a prairie wildfire through the instrumental churches in Brazil, so much so that the only faithful remnant among these churches to be found today is located in north and northeastern Brazil. All of the other instrumental churches of Christ throughout the remainder of Brazil were “Pentecostalized.” The only congregation in central Brazil that I personally am familiar with and know did not follow this path meets in Belo Horizonte. In order to survive, it removed the piano from the worship service (the piano is still in the back of the building and covered up) and is now in fellowship with the a cappella churches.
Fortunately for the sake of New Testament Christianity in Brazil, the instrumental churches in the north are evangelistic and growing, while the a cappella churches of Christ have grown and spread throughout central, eastern and southern Brazil. Unfortunately for the Gospel truth, the Pentecostal churches have grown even faster.
Over the course of years the Pentecostal churches began calling their ministers “Pastors,” electing women to be Pastors, preaching a baptism-free, faith-only plan of salvation and organizing into a loose but formal denominational structure. Their ministry students graduate from the Bible College in Brasília to go out preaching a corrupted gospel, and all too often seek to infiltrate faithful churches in order to lead them into the Pentecostal fold. At the forefront of resisting these deceitful workers have been the instrumental American missionaries in the northern city of Belém. As recently as a coupleof years ago they were called upon to confront a “Pastor” and his self-willed wife from Brasília that were trying to lead a church into what’s known as the “G-12” movement of Pentecostalism. With the Lord’s blessing a good part of that church was preserved, though the “Pastor” still led a portion away to start a new, Pentecostal church.
What I tell you in this article is the simple – albeit painful – truth. I know both from personal contact with the Pentecostals and from first-hand testimony that it is true. I wish that it weren’t. At the National Missionary Convention in Peoria a few years ago I met a veteran Pentecostalized missionary to Brazil, and we spoke briefly. He mentioned to me that in his youth he had preached a stricter, narrower message; but that later his eyes had been opened receive even the Catholics as brethren in Christ. He based this conclusion on the evidence of Pentecostal “gifts” such as “tongues-speaking” among many Brazilian Catholics. Rather than make recourse to the Bible to determine what makes a Christian, this missionary and others like him base their faith on subjective experience. And yes, he continues to receive mission support from independent Christian Churches in the United States.
If anyone doubts what I write, let me know and I will help you get in contact with people from the a cappella and instrumental churches in Brazil. You will find that there is no exaggeration in what I write. What I report here is little known among American churches. Missionaries in Brazil from a mission agency associated with the independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, for instance, have confessed to me that they do not tell supporters that the churches they serve in Brazil are Pentecostal. When visitors arrive from the U.S., they explain away the services as cultural, but definitely not Pentecostal. Since visitors don’t generally know Portuguese anyway, they can’t perceive it when some members begin speaking in tongues and they have no idea that the message being preached is Pentecostal and faith only. I’ve actually been asked to keep it quiet, and when I mention it to other Latin American missionaries at the NACC and the National Missionary Convention, I’m generally met with what I call a “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” response. It’s evidently considered an insider’s secret.
I am committed to Christian unity, but not without basic commitments to Biblical teaching. The truth must be told, and I cannot keep silent. Compromise of Biblical truth is not necessary or desirable to attain unity. In Brazil I worked in complete and peaceful cooperation with a cappella and instrumental brethren whose teaching did not include Pentecostalism, and I made no conscious distinction between the two. The unity I seek is, first and foremost, truly Christian.
UPDATE #2 07/12/2010 – It’s as though some members of the CCA board want the camp to die. One objection some on the board had to holding the retreats was reportedly due to a broken hot water heater. An offer was made to donate one with free installation. This was rejected as they said they wanted a different system in the future. Another objection was concern that registration for the retreats might not cover expenses. A promise was made by someone to cover any shortfall, but this too was rejected.
At this point I offer the following suggestions:
- If you have a child who wants to go to camp, why not Camp Manatawny? It is a very good camp affiliated with the Churches of Christ and is located in eastern Pennsylvania. My daughter goes to camp there and loves it. There are still a few camp sessions left this year. If people contact me with solid interest in sending children I will contact the camp and try to persuade them to drop the late registration fee for “CCA Refugees.” If they agree, that would make a week at camp only $250.
- Organize a separate camp board and begin looking for a location to rent next summer, at least for youth retreats. There are a lot of groups that do it, so it can be done.
UPDATE #1 07/10/2010 - This is very confusing and frustrating, but after a flurry of efforts by volunteers, including yours-truly, to get retreats going for this summer, for reasons as-yet unknown the directors of the camp have pulled the plug. There will be no youth retreats this summer. If I learn more, I will share it here.
A few month ago I reported here on the financial and organizational troubles that Catskill Christian Assembly was facing. Unfortunately, summer camp sessions ended up being canceled due to a lack of a qualified camp manager (New York laws set certain requirements for this role). Fortunately, a way was found to hold three retreats instead. One for Junior High, one for Senior High and one for Young Adults (ages 18 – 30).
Tentative word is that the Junior and Senior High retreats will cost $95 each, while the young adult camp (a full week) will run $250. If this information changes I will post an update here. The schedules are as follows:
Junior High Summer Retreat
Grades 6, 7 and 8th
Saturday 7/24/10 @ 10:00AM to Tuesday 7/27/10 @ 9:00AM
Senior High Summer Retreat
Grades 9 – 12th
Wednesday 7/28/10 @ 10:00AM to Saturday 7/31/10 @ 9:00AM
Young Adults Week
Ages 18 – 30 (but all welcome)
Sunday 8/1/10 to Friday 8/6/10
For more information, visit the camp’s website or Facebook page.
