Insights on Philanthropy
by Fred Smith

On May 18-24 a group of 15 Gathering participants flew to Cuba.  Most of us had never been and were curious about what is going on with the church there.  All of us were surprised by what we learned and experienced.  I don’t want to write a full report but would like to focus a couple of blogs on some of the highlights.

The influence of China has almost replaced the subsidy of the Soviet Union.  I use those words carefully because China is not subsidizing.  It is in a trading relationship with Cuba.  Still, as a result of seeing China’s operating pattern in Africa and other places, they remind me of a pay day lender.  They are willing to take risky bets in countries that are either outright pariahs (like Angola) or are in deep financial straits (like Cuba) and then insinuate themselves into the economy.  In the case of Cuba they are trading buses and locomotives they manufacture in China for nickel and, more importantly, the valuable rights to off-shore drilling.  Fidel and Raul Castro's long-time regime is "over a barrel" given the weakness of the Cuban economy, and Cuba needs all the trading partners it can get. This includes Venezuela, Spain, the Netherlands and Canada.  One interesting fact is Cuba’s major export is now physicians.  Over 30,000 Cuban doctors have been sent around the world in exchange for food and oil.  Over 85% of all food has to be imported in spite of the abundant supply of government owned farm land.  When the Soviet Union collapsed, 80% of the Cuban economy collapsed with it and that has led to extreme measures (like reducing the government labor force by 500,000 people last year) that may actually produce long term benefits by forcing the creation of privately owned businesses and allowing farmers to own land. 

I’ve just returned from ten days in Europe – London, Oxford, Paris and Prague.  A small group from The Gathering (11 of us) went together.  In the course of those ten days we made visits or heard presentations from 23 different ministries.  Yes, that is insane but you should have seen us high-fiving after the final presentation.  For me, 23 in ten days is a “personal best”…but that’s not a record I want to break.  I took good notes and intend to write it up in segments for the blog and the Board of The Gathering. 

However, this morning I wanted to focus on a theme that kept coming up consistently among the group. All of us have visited ministries in Africa, India, Asia, South America, etc. and most of our experience has been with ministries working in the undeveloped parts of those places.  We’ve been with the “poorest of the poor” (a phrase I don’t like but will wait for another time to talk about) and trekked around villages in rural areas as well as unimaginable slums in Kenya, South Africa, India and other urban areas.  Those trips are not hard to explain to friends.  It was most difficult to explain our taking ten days to visit ministries in Europe.  Why is that?   

First, there are no pith helmets in Paris.  There have not been any David Livingston types in France since the monks spreading the influence of the Church among the barbarians in the dark ages.  There is no powerful figure standing out for us as a missionary to pagans or the cannibals of London.  

Second, one of the paradoxes we encountered was the perception among donors that Europe is completely Christianized and at the same time hopelessly secular.  I know it cannot be both but many people see it that way.  It has already been “churched” over the course of thousands of years and yet is now written off as beyond the reach of any true faith. 

Third, we have been taught that part of the effect of Christian missions has been the civilizing of pagans.  How much more civilizing needs to be done in Europe?  In fact, we still compare ourselves to sophisticated European civilization in our manners, music and the arts, intellectual accomplishments and habits.  When we think of civilization we look to Europe.  No further work of civilizing needs to be done.  

Fourth, I think many of us are intimidated by secularism in a way we are not by poverty and physical suffering.  Our compassion and our pity are far more effective in Africa than Oxford – and that makes us uncomfortable as donors.  Some might even argue that evangelicals are not convinced secularists and intellectuals (not always the same thing in Europe) are even opportunities for the Gospel.  After all, it was the same who saw the Gospel as foolishness and rejected Paul’s preaching.  

Finally, I believe it was J. Oswald Smith who said, “No one has the right to hear the gospel twice until everyone has had an opportunity to hear it at least once.”  I know in my upbringing that meant we “shake the dust off our sandals” to the hardened hearts and move on with the proclamation.  My sense is others have been brought up to think the same about Europe.  They’ve had enough opportunities and have rejected it. Why should we spend precious resources on them when we can reap a bigger harvest in other places? 

Again, this is not exhaustive and many of you could fill in all the blanks I’ve left – and I hope you will. I came back to the States with so many thoughts about ministries in Europe and a desire to think about ways those ministries could present themselves to American donors as valid and as worthy as those ministries we support in “needy” countries.