Mission in a Violent World
What Would David Livingstone Say?
Welcome to “Global Witness, Globally Reimagined,” where we dream about mission in a postcolonial world. Every Thursday, I share one thought that has spoken to me in the week, some resources that I trust will be helpful to you, and three exciting quotes about mission to give you something to think about. I pray one of these will energise you in the coming week.
1. Thought I Can’t Shake Off
This is my final piece on mission (and peace) in a violent world. Of course, I consider the ongoing rise in violence in the world a big issue in mission in 2024. I have, for a few weeks, gone back to David Livingstone’s journals to try and understand his drive, especially in the fight against the “open sore” of slave trade in Africa. From Tanzania, in the late 1860s, he wrote:
At present, let me give a glimpse of the slave trade … the whole traffic, whether by land or ocean, is a gross outrage on the common law of mankind. It […] presents almost insurmountable obstacles to intercourse between different portions of the human family. This open sore in the world is partly owing to human cupidity, partly to the ignorance of the more civilized of mankind … [which can only come to an end if] the whole civilized world rose against it.1
Of course, I wonder, what happens when the violence is sanctioned or perpetrated by the “more civilised” among us? One year before his death, he lamented—and these words are inscribed on his tomb in Westminster Abbey:
All I can add in my loneliness is, may Heaven's rich blessing come down on everyone, American, English, or Turk, who will help to heal the open sore of the world.”2
Ironically, his work led (almost) directly to the era of European colonisation of Africa which, in the end, helped heal that open sore. Thus, he helped heal one sore while initiating another.
But we have a new ‘open sore’ in the world today. It is more than the images that we see on our TVs every day, especially if you are able to look beyond Western mainstream media. It is the epidemic of violence that has engulfed us all. It is something that Western missions people need to pay attention to as they know a thing or two about the broader world than most Westerners. It is for this reason that mission leaders must advocate for peace. Like Livingstone, I pray rich blessings on all who help heal this open sore.
2. Resources I am Enjoying
Video: Dr. Trevor O'Reggio: The Forgotten African History of Christianity
This episode of the Advent Next Theological Podcast considers the non-Western, particularly African, roots of Christianity and its significant contributions to the spread of the faith right from its inception. This conversation with Trevor O’Reggio explores multiple issues of missiological concerns, including slavery and colonisation, as intertwined with Christian history. O’Reggio briefly discusses how slavery and colonisation impact the reception of the Christian faith around the world and how they continue to colour its perception among many Africans. Indeed, the conception of Christianity as the “white man's religion” has limited the total allegiance to and depth of the faith in many regions of the world, where it emerged alongside European colonisation. This phenomenon is not without missiological implications today, as it impacts the spread, proper interpretation, and articulation of the gospel, especially in those places where it is still seemingly colluding with violence and oppression.
3. Quotes I am Pondering
Instead of saddling our sandals and going for the lost, we are seated comfortably in our beautiful church edifices. We expect the lost to come and find us. No. … The command is to ‘GO.’ — Damilola Abraham
… the changing face of Christianity and world mission means that the white British are reducing their missional footsteps, but they have diasporic missionaries who can be partners for home missions. — Valerie Nkechi Taiwo
Mission starts with God and belongs to him, as he invites the church to cooperate with him in his redemptive plan, which includes the recovery of social concern regarding injustice and suffering, and cultivating a caring attitude to the poor. — Samuel Cueva
I pray that you will be faithful to the mission God has for you this week.
David Livingstone, The Life and Explorations of Dr. David Livingstone: Comprising All His Extensive Travels and Discoveries: As Detailed in His Diary, Reports, and Letters, Including His Famous Last Journals. Philadelphia: John E. Potter and Company, 1857. 347.
Livingstone, The Life and Explorations, 492.