We don't talk about short term missions

...no, no, nooooo

I hate the term “white savior”.

I said it! I said it, and I mean it, and I’ll say it again. It’s a stupid phrase. The more I learn about race essentialism the more I’m convinced the terms “black” and “white” are inherently inaccurate and unhelpful (…for another newsletter! Or not! But look into Dr. Sheena Mason and the Theory of Racelessness! Or Racecraft by Karen Fields!) And I feel like it’s designed to tick people off: oh, look at you, taking a photo of yourself with small children in Ecuador. You’re so GOOD. Well, you’re just a WHITE SAVIOR. I, angrily tweeting about you, am actually giving much higher of a benefit to THE KINGDOM.

Intent does matter. Matters to me, matters to God, matters, ok? I do not think you are a shitty person for going on a short term mission trip. If you’re looking for someone to rant about white saviors, I am not your girl. I want to get that out of the way because:

Yes, mission trips can have really powerful impacts on our spiritual lives.

Yes, mission trips can be done WELL and can benefit the areas they’re trying to serve.

Yes, mission trips can help very well-off kids to get some perspective, which can make the world a better place.

Yes, there are times when a mission trip is the right choice.

Yes, I think a desire to help others is a good thing.

But I want to talk about mission trips.