From Russia With Love
Tuesday, two colleagues and I sat together in a hotel room in St. Petersburg, Russia to debrief the day. The three of us were struggling as we processed a day full of typical tourist activities – perusing The Hermitage Museum, visiting the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, shopping for souvenirs, enjoying a dinner with folk dancing, and more. This trip is unlike most Church trips, especially in these first days where we have no apparent purpose. There is no building, no installing water systems, no teaching bible school, nor any of the active “doing” we are used to when leaving home with our worshipping community.
As we sat in our time to process that odd day, we became frustrated and concerned over our purpose. How do we possibly justify this trip to the congregations we serve? “Mission trip” or even “cultural immersion” did not seem adequate phrases to describe our time away. It was in this state of mind I approached the last chapter of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber. I came to the page where Weber was describing Calvinist ideals, and quoted from Baxter’s Saints Everlasting Rest, “Waste of time is thus the first and in principle the deadliest of sins. The span of human life is infinitely short and precious to make sure of one’s own election. Loss of time through sociability, idle talk, luxury, even more sleep than is necessary for health, is worthy of absolute moral condemnation.” (Weber, 96) Needless to say, this passage even furthered my growing case of indigestion regarding this trip full of missiological questions. Does the congregation I serve want me to sit in this seemingly lap of luxury on their dime when they expect my ministry to be completely of service and that old Wesleyan (and Rotarian) ethic of service before self?
It was about this time, my friend Clint Baldwin texted me the statement, “Where we read affects how we understand what we read.” Though this quotation is full of guilt and I tend to err on the side of God’s grace and His love, these words were tough to absorb, especially in my current state of mind, as I sat in the plush surroundings of a hotel room in St. Petersburg. Even my DMIN LGP3 mate, Chris Ellis, commented on one of the many photos I posted on Facebook, “Suffering for Jesus, eh?” I grappled with purpose and reason. Are we wasting our time on this trip? Worse yet, are we being poor stewards of the money our church members so generously gave? Keep in mind, I serve at a church full those who have been enormously effected by a capitalist society, highly successful entrepreneurs, whose main thought is “do, do, do.” It will be hard to describe to the masses the idea of relationships and observing when they are conditioned to see the final product and results of diligent hard work.
(I should make a side note here and tell you we have participated in this trip due to the partnership between our Louisiana United Methodist Conference and the First United Methodist Church in Ekaterinburg, Russia. This is my church’s first official trip to become involved in the 20-year partnership, and I am specifically here to see, observe and report back to my church. This was seen as such an important step that one member paid for the travel and expenses of our four-person team.)
The more I tried to justify, the more I struggled with complacency. I live in a capitalist society, where hard work is encouraged and expected. A strong work ethic promotes growth and gain. Just as in the Calvinism as described by Weber, capitalism is based on how much you do to determine how far you will go.
But then Weber described Luther’s perspective and Protestantism as leaning away from how much you do to instead focus on what God is doing in you and others. It seems as if the two are at an impasse, the Calvinist (as Weber describes) ethic screaming to do something, while Protestantism encourages to be still and listen. Capitalism unfortunately encourages humanity back to a “do” mentality from a “what God is doing” ideal that is stressed in the Protestant tradition. As we sat wondering if we were simply feeding our adventurous spirits or truly being gracious stewards of the gifts granted to us by God’s grace, I wondered how do we separate our capitalist beliefs from our Protestant beliefs and teaching? Can this even be possible or even in today’s culture, have to the two already intermingled to promote creative thinking and reflection as precursors and products to going and doing?
At this moment as I write, we are on our way to Ekaterinburg to meet the missionaries and the church congregation our Conference planted over 20 years ago. Will our time for leisure and learning in St. Petersburg mean anything? Will it add to our overall experience and bridge the gap from western to non-western culture? I tend to think it opens the door for conversation and shows an interest in who our partners are and where they have come from, their history and their culture. Knowledge gathering is an essential piece, and though it does not take upon the look of “doing” something, it is an active step in forming the foundation to potential relationships and future partnerships. Because of these two days, when we arrive in Ekaterinburg, we will be able to understand a few phrases in Russian. We will understand how central art, opera, ballet and dancing are to the Russian culture. We will know the geography, and we can say, “yes, I have seen that monument or I have been to The Hermitage.” We will have sloshed in the ice and snow enough to understand why even the sweetest and kindest Russian could have a stern, grumpy looking exterior! In essence, we are building common ground to ease into lengthier conversations. We are crossing the bridge into a deeper understanding of what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ in a place that is wholly different where I do ministry day-to-day. I will continue to mull the thoughts from this book for many days to come as we continue to process the “doing” versus the “being,” and how we will live into this awkward and grace-filled dichotomy called faith.
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