Colonialism in Missions

The Polyphonic Podcast

A few years ago, my wife and I got a chance to hike Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah. For anybody that has been there, you’re very aware of how epic Zion is, and the crowning height is certainly Angels Landing. It is one of the most thrilling and visually stunning hikes in the world. As you begin to crest the top of the spine mountain, you are treated to jaw-dropping views. The narrow ridge trail called the “chain section” (and yes, there are chains you can hold onto in some places so you do not fall off) has steep, 1,000-foot drop-offs on both sides. If you veer too much to the right or the left, you will be introduced to your maker. The reward sits at about 1,400 to 1,500 feet. An incredible view of one of the most iconic valleys in the world.

Hiking Angels Landing can be a lot like talking about colonialism. It’s pretty easy to make too much of a step to the right and be in denial about it. It is also easy to step too far to the left and frame all of missions under the guise of colonialism. Both result in a potentially devastating end.

Missio Nexus has been at work for the past year and a half on producing a podcast about colonialism, Polyphonic: Mission After Empire. We will be dropping an episode each week during the summer.

I have some deeply held views about how missiology has handled the topic. Thus, we let the team run with the interviews as they saw fit. I did not ride herd over the messaging or how things were put together. It would be better to have this discussion with somebody somewhat outside of the professional missionary world. As our team wrestled with who that might be, somebody came to mind.

Let me introduce you to Imer Santiago.

I first met Imer at Urbana. He was leading a session on multicultural worship, and I came into his room preparing for my own speaking session on church planting, scheduled next in the same room. As he finished up, he mentioned how he was living in Saint Cloud, FL, the town my wife and I spent almost a decade living in. We decided to get together and our friendship was born. Soon after this project was conceived, he came to mind as somebody who would be a better guide than I.

Polyphonic is intended to be both a reference to music and to the way global missions is being conducted today. Polyphonic means "many-voiced" or having many sounds. It comes from the Greek words poly (many) and phōnē (voice or sound). The music angle was the producer’s idea, and Imer is a musician.

I was asked to provide a list of potential people to interview. From there, other referrals were sought. I think you will agree that some of the speakers may be a bit unexpected. I do think it gives you a pretty well-rounded exposure to the topic. A few surprising statements and claims appear, but it is an honest treatment of the topic. I am pretty sure that not everybody is going to like what they hear. I did not. I will let you try to guess which parts were a bit of a struggle for me.

Polyphonic starts out in a donut shop and travels around the globe asking questions about colonialism’s role in the unfolding story of the church. Along the way, I had a chance to listen in to some of the interviews and discussions. I fought my base instinct to try to wrap these sessions around my own ideas regarding colonialism. Like a European movie, it doesn’t really resolve - do you see the jazz inference there? But it will make you think.

Join us over the next few weeks as we release… Polyphonic.