The impression that I have often had of
international development in terms of the UK is that mission agencies do their
thing and quite separately government does its thing. But should this division be accepted or are
there ways in which meaningful partnership can be developed between the two
groups?
I recently attended a meeting arranged by the
Tony Blair Faith Foundation at Westminster under the title of ‘The Contribution
of Faith Communities to Global Health’.
Several MPs were in attendance along with academics and development
organisation and faith group leaders. I was encouraged by the wide recognition
of the importance of government engaging with faith groups. While accepting that the public profile of
faith communities is often negative (indeed the meeting itself was held on the
anniversary of 9/11), the story of both history and today is of faith
communities often being at the forefront of community transformation for
good. The history of BMS itself is woven
with stories of positive contribution to life across the world e.g. Carey
leading a campaign to abolish the practice of widow-burning in India, and Knibb
as a leading member of the campaign for the abolishment of slavery in Jamaica.
Today people across the world are demonstrating
God’s love in many society transforming ways.
Indeed often mission agencies such as BMS have a unique impact in terms
of resources, staying power, the ability to change attitudes and the motivation
of faith. Mission agencies are able to
view the ‘life in all its fullness’ that Jesus offers to give a more holistic
response to need. Western government can
sometimes seek to separate faith from other issues in society, whereas in most
of the developing world faith cannot be extricated from the whole of life like
a segment an orange, but rather is like the juice that runs throughout. An integrated response to human need across
the world cannot ignore faith.
There are challenges in helping government see
that we operate without ‘strings attached’ in terms of care being dependent on
acceptance of the Gospel. However my
hope is that we can give a more effective voice to the voiceless, in government
circles, as well as continuing to seek to demonstrate love in tangible ways to
those in greatest need.
