Article on Followers of the Way

[HondurasKeiser]

Milioni’s take on missions in this article is, to use their terminology, “not biblical” and results in a balkanization of the church. More to the point, it’s flat wrong and is more a reflection of some worldly zeitgeist than anything approaching a Christian and Biblical missiology.

Another person quoted in the article, Rebecca Mui stood out to me because I vaguely remember her from the “Dank Kingdom Christian Meme” days. At the time she seemed to take great delight in poking fun at the unenlightened Mennonites and certain conservative elements here on MennoNet. Now it seems she’s grown disillusioned with the FOTW crowd too and her critiques are all but indistinguishable from a Mennonite Action-esque grad student from Goshen or EMU.

[barnhart]

Can you be more specific about the un- biblical critique?

[Nomad]

Milioni’s take on missions in this article is, to use their terminology, “not biblical” and results in a balkanization of the church. More to the point, it’s flat wrong and is more a reflection of some worldly zeitgeist than anything approaching a Christian and Biblical missiology.

Another person quoted in the article, Rebecca Mui stood out to me because I vaguely remember her from the “Dank Kingdom Christian Meme” days. At the time she seemed to take great delight in poking fun at the unenlightened Mennonites and certain conservative elements here on MennoNet. Now it seems she’s grown disillusioned with the FOTW crowd too and her critiques are all but indistinguishable from a Mennonite Action-esque grad student from Goshen or EMU.

I noticed this with Rebecca Mui as well...it kind of surprised me when I read her comments. I wonder what changed?

[HondurasKeiser]

Can you be more specific about the un- biblical critique?

Outside of the U.S., there is a branch of Followers of the Way in Uganda, but Milioni said foreign missionary work is frowned upon.

“I am calling for an end to the era of Western missions,” Miloni said. “They don’t need us for the gospel, but you also can’t untie the Gordian knot of whiteness in a post-colonial country. It doesn’t matter how genuine my friendships are — I’m always the most powerful person in the room. That’s not a good disposition to be teaching the gospel from.”

[barnhart]

Can you be more specific about the un- biblical critique?

Outside of the U.S., there is a branch of Followers of the Way in Uganda, but Milioni said foreign missionary work is frowned upon.

“I am calling for an end to the era of Western missions,” Miloni said. “They don’t need us for the gospel, but you also can’t untie the Gordian knot of whiteness in a post-colonial country. It doesn’t matter how genuine my friendships are — I’m always the most powerful person in the room. That’s not a good disposition to be teaching the gospel from.”

He says it in more absolute terms than I would, but I see some truth there. The failure of the western church to separate the gospel from political, economic and cultural power has been a great tragedy and produced a lot of bad fruit. There is always room for believers from anywhere to serve anywhere as long as they are truly humble but as he points out, that has proven difficult.

[Ernie]

Is it any different to be the most powerful person in the room here in the US?
Should we also call for an end to traditional western authority structures as well, and view anybody with wisdom, ordination, etc. as simply equals... with no more responsibility or authority than anyone else?
I'm quite sure the latter would not go over well at FOTW.

I think it simply comes down to how we handle our authority and influence. Jesus had every reason to have a power differential when he came to earth, but he humbled himself and became a servant.

This is a disposition that serves both missionaries abroad and leaders in North America very well.

[ken_sylvania]

Is it any different to be the most powerful person in the room here in the US?
Should we also call for an end to traditional western authority structures as well, and view anybody with wisdom, ordination, etc. as simply equals... with no more responsibility or authority than anyone else?
I'm quite sure the latter would not go over well at FOTW.

I think it simply comes down to how we handle our authority and influence. Jesus had every reason to have a power differential when he came to earth, but he humbled himself and became a servant.

This is a disposition that serves both missionaries abroad and leaders in North America very well.

Maybe Milioni knows what it feels like when Gospel teaching comes from a rich man.

[Nomad]

I took Matthew's words to be targeting big-money organizational foreign missions...not foreign missionaries themselves. At least I'm hoping that's what he meant since they have some "white" missionaries of their own from FOTW in Uganda.

[joshuabgood]

I think Milioni makes a fair critique, and the strong manner in which he makes it tracks with his persona in my experience. He isnt one to mince words regarding his opinions. There is a bit of irony there re types of power...as was noted.

[HondurasKeiser]

Is it any different to be the most powerful person in the room here in the US?
Should we also call for an end to traditional western authority structures as well, and view anybody with wisdom, ordination, etc. as simply equals... with no more responsibility or authority than anyone else?
I'm quite sure the latter would not go over well at FOTW.

I think it simply comes down to how we handle our authority and influence. Jesus had every reason to have a power differential when he came to earth, but he humbled himself and became a servant.

This is a disposition that serves both missionaries abroad and leaders in North America very well.

I’m with Ernie on this one. What’s more, as someone who’s been a member of the Honduran Evangelical Mennonite Church for 18 years, I can tell you his critique misses the mark.