Thus saith the LORD, “Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” But they said, “We will not walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:16, KJV, the only English version I have with me in Chile)
Dear Ones,
I have been thinking about heritage ever since I knew that I would be coming to Chile in as a volunteer missionary for Gobal Ministries. It was such a thrill to see my picture alongside my sister Elena’s picture as a GM missionary.
During my adult life I have often told people that I was the black sheep of our family because I am the only sibling who lives and serves in the United States, since my two other brothers serve with other missionary agencies in different parts of the world. But our connection to Global Ministries and its predecessors goes way back. In fact, if Elena continues as a staff missionary (something that Global Ministries seems to desire as much as she does) in 2020 the Huegel family will have completed 100 years of continuous service in the mission agencies of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). My grandparents arrived in Mexico in 1920 and served 50 years. My dad (who married my mom in 1961) arrived in Mexico in 1954 and left in 1996. My sister arrived in Paraguay in 1994 (we think) and was called to chile in 1996 or thereabouts.
As I sat in the very cold sanctuary of the Pentecostal Church of Chile in the city of Talca last night, the matter of heritage was brought home to me. We sang “The Old Rugged Cross” accompanied by guitars, mandolins, and a single drum, and clapping only in the pauses between stanzas. In those pauses we sometimes gave a triple “glory to God” in the Chilean Pentecostal fashion. You think of charismatic and Pentecostal churches as being very spontaneous, freewheeling, and changeable—but the Pentecostal Church of Chile has well-defined liturgical and ministerial traditions. They always say “Glory to God” three times, their choirs are always divided by gender—only the women play mandolins, and only the men play the guitars. The mandolins require the greater skill, you see.
Back in the 1980’s when I lived in Mexico City, the government’s agency called the National Indigenist Institute was forever attacking the Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Press. Their main complaint was that Wycliffe, by sending missionaries, modern technology, and a message foreign to the natives’ culture, was destroying fragile cultural environments that could never be replaced. The government agency performed a valuable service to the missionaries, because it made them aware of the need to listen carefully and respect the local culture. They came to realize that God in Jesus was already present in these cultures, and that their job was to enable the people to recognize that presence more fully and to give them the tools to appropriate the Gospel for themselves.
But it seems to me that that controversy from the 1980’s has particular resonance for the Christian community for today. Christianity is becoming globalized and in the process, the local flavors of Christianity are threatened to be lost. I expect to see many signs of that globalization on this trip—the acoustic mandolins and guitars will be overshadowed by brass, by percussion, and by electronics. I guess the change is necessary, but it is a little sad.
One thing that I hope to not see change about the Pentecostal Church of Chile is the commitment to creatively serve the community. Pastor Carlos, the senior minister of the church in Talca, told me how the church pulled together after the earthquake in 2010 to build cabins for people who had been left homeless. They didn’t wait for money to come to the States (although Week of Compassion and the United Church of Christ Massachusetts Conference did fairly quickly come alongside the project). Instead, the national denomination decided to forgo its entire budget for that year and pledged the full amount (a lot less than you would expect for a denomination this size) for 13’ x 26’ cabins, which volunteers from the churches mass-produced on an assembly line in a church’s roofed patio.
Sometimes walking in the old paths, when the old paths involve the expression of selfless love, represents a good way to approach the future. Pastor Carlos spoke to me of a “local” (many of the churches of the Pentecostal Church of Chile have “small” group ministries that have their own building, and these are called “locals”) of his church that for 20 years has dreamt of serving meals to the poor in their neighborhood. Finally this year they have had the resources to add a dining hall to their building and have begun to serve meals on weekends to kids who are fed in school during the week but who go hungry on Saturday and Sunday. Now, that’s an “old path” after God’s heart.
God, grant us to hang on to that which is good in our heritage!
.
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