Straight from the mouth of an African

A friend sent me this video from the Urbana conference and I think it is a timely message for us as we prepare to leave. A pastor from Kenya gives a Jesus-perspective on rich people like us doing missions work in poor nations.

His message comes out of Philippians 2:3-11.

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
 ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 ⁶Who, being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 ⁷but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 ⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
 ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
 ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

The challenge for us:

• Just like Jesus left his godly nature when he came to earth, will we leave our degrees, our connections, our solutions, our answers, our strategies, our wealth, our technology when we go?
• Just like Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, will we lay down our rights to status or equality with the people when we go?
• Just like Jesus, will we take on the attitude of a humble servant, serving them, learning their names, their culture, eating food their way, and listening to their wisdom?