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Mission partnerships are complex. I am therefore borrowing the use of dance imagery to convey these
complexities. A great and enjoyable dance—whether Maasai, Salsa, Rumba, Lingala or Tap dancing—requires
intricate and well coordinated moves. Similarly, mission partnership can be likened to a missional dance!
Dancing a Different Dance
By Duncan Olumbe (Coordinator Mission Together Africa)
I look at existing mission partnerships,
both nationally and globally, and see
countless types of missional dances. Such
great diversity demonstrates the creativity
and expression of the various dancers on the
global mission dance floor—and is therefore
healthy. However, a closer look reveals a
cacophony of styles and steps; a deafening of
Wows and Oops. What appears well-orches-
trated from afar turns out to be ballroom
brawls on close scrutiny. It seems that the
presence of mission leaders (dance instruc-
tors) has been akin to the many cooks who
spoilt the broth!
Part of the confusion, it seems, lies in
the complexity of creating truly global mis-
sional dances. No wonder: the predominantly
global North missional dance instructors are
shouting their voices hoarse on a dance floor
whose majority dancers are from the global
South. And the emerging global South dan-
cers are busy doing their thing in desperate
attempt to outdo each other! Surely, with
such a scene, who would not join me in long-
ing for a different dance?
However, before I describe what this
different dance would look like, I wish to
closely examine the current missional dances
which I wish were done differently. I see three
predominant types of dances worth a brief
exploration. I hope this would help us gain
a deeper understanding of current mission
partnerships in order to propose different
missional dances.
Power Dance
The first and perhaps most prevalent
mission partnership is the Power Dance. It
seems to have its dance books plagiarized
from leading global secular superpowers. So
familiar is it, especially when I recognized
where else I had seen the beat and tempo.
Aha! It echoed the all-too-familiar power-
game between developing countries and
economic powerhouses of World Bank and
IMF (International Monetary Fund). This was
best exemplified by the largely failed SAPS
(Strategic Adjustment Programs) of the 1980s
and 1990s. These were grotesque dances
between “the giants” and “the dwarfs,” with
the giants prescribing the tunes and steps
in total disregard to the dwarfs! They even
included pre-recorded cheering squads to
drown out the squeals of pain from the
downtrodden. Even when it became appar-
ent that failure was an understatement, the
giants stepped up the tempo by introducing
the ESAPS (Enhanced Strategic Adjustment
Programs)!
In embarrassing similarity, Duncan Olumbe
the majority of the powerful Mission Together Africa
global North mission leaders (MTA) Kenya
(dance masters) have seem-
ingly perfected the art from IMF
and WB! As a result, mission partnership
has grossly been one-sided—with our dear
western brothers and sisters calling the shots. name to be magnified among the audience.
Even when they have attempted to address
this ominous inequality, it seems they have
been caught listening to their echoes instead
of genuinely listening to the gasping and
rasping voices from global South! Of course
it takes two to tango and so I think it is only
fair to say that we as African dancers have
abetted and even sometimes cheered on this
humiliating fiasco. I have also seen fellow
African mission leaders who, as faithful stu-
CONNECTIONS
dents of their Western dance masters, have
religiously embraced the art of dominance,
arrogance and pretension in mission partner-
ships! With many years of this type of dance,
I almost despair. I honestly wonder: “can an
Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its
spots?” (Jeremiah 13:23).
Imitation Dance
Secondly, we have the Imitation Dance.
It borrows a lot from the sons of Sceva. Acts
19:13-17 tells the embarrassing story of the
seven sons and several itinerant Jewish exor-
cists who, having observed how Paul in the
name of Jesus staged an amazing “dance”
during power encounters with demon pos-
sessed people, decided that they could also
do the same simply by invoking the name of
Jesus “whom Paul preaches.” The result—
thorough beating up and fleeing
away naked and wounded—was
not what they had bargained
for or advertised! Instead of a
resounding applause from the
audience and a request for a
repeat performance, they were
grossly humiliated. Graciously though, God
used this disastrous “dance” to cause his
As I look at some of the ongoing mission
partnerships, especially between African and
western mission leaders, I cannot help but
see such striking similarities. Given the appa-
rently successful western mission enterprise,
African mission leaders are often tempted
to imitate the western dance by invoking
the name of Jesus “whom the western mis-
sion enterprise preaches.” Examples include
direct importation of Theological College cur-
ricula, church planting models, discipleship
programs and even mission personnel from
the global North without due contextualiza-
tion. What is the result? Africa is littered
with many wounded and humiliated dancers!
But even more tragic is the fact that instead
of these wounded dancers recognizing their
folly, they go ahead and mistake God’s grace
(in using their humiliation to cause his name
to be glorified) as God’s stamp of approval!
Small wonder they go on repeating the same
mistakes and in the process perfecting the art
of imitation.
I am also beginning to suspect that of
late the western mission leaders are falling for
the Imitation Dance given the phenomenal
growth of Christianity in the global South. A
number of western dancers are scouting for
“what works in the South” in order to use
as talisman in their post-Christian contexts.
Suddenly, there is an unprecedented scramble
for African, Asian or Latin American mission
dancers to go dance in the western mission
parlors. In fact some western mission agen-
cies are busy installing leaders from the global
South simply to give a semblance that they are
“sensitive to the Christian majority world.”
In all these imitation dances, I foresee similar
Duncan Olumbe serves
with Mission Together Africa
and lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
Earlier Duncan was the
director for Commission
2004, a mobilization
conference for students
(related to IFES) from east
and Southern Africa.
outcome—wounded and humiliated dancers,
bewildered and wondering what hit them. I
do not want to be misconstrued as implying
that learning from each other is wrong. I think
what is critical is that unless we are willing to
pay the price of knowing and following Jesus
personally, we cannot depend on the experi-
ence of others to effectively do our mission jig
in our respective contexts.
Position Dance
Thirdly, we have the Position Dance. This
is best exemplified in the encounter where
James and John requested Jesus to grant them
special status of sitting closest to him (Mark
10:35-45). These two brothers wanted to be
closest to the Centre of Power—Jesus. And the
other ten disciples were livid at such audacity!
It is significant that Jesus refused to be part
of this routine dance which reeked of Gentile
leadership styles. First, he ascertained whether
they knew the price they would have to pay
for being that close to him. And even when
they affirmed their willingness (which I am not
sure they fully understood), Jesus pointed to
the fact that it is God’s prerogative to assign
who sits closest to him! Put simply, it is not in
our realm to choose who we shall be in God’s
order of leadership. Jesus finally spent time
panel-beating their warped views about leader-
ship and service. Jesus’ leadership was a serv-
anthood dance, not greatness (in position).
When I look at contemporary mission in
Africa, I see depressing curtain raisers to the
Position Dance; naked and sometimes bestial
jostling for positions of power. The strategic
alignments, realignments and counter-align-
ments among my African fellow mission danc-
ers to be closer to the “Centre of Power” are
sickening. Often this positioning is in relation
to western mission with POWER—in terms of
finances, equipment, connections, or simply
raw power. The resulting dance is intensely
brutal as fellow African mission leaders perfect
the art of under-cutting, blackmailing and/or
blocking each other from any presumed source
of power. And those who succeed to ascend
to the hallowed tables of global mission pow-
ers (sometimes through hook and crook) are
too preoccupied with how to remain there
for life; instead of mentoring and developing
emerging mission dancers. On the other hand,
those who, like the ten disciples, are not on
the apparent league of Who-is-Who, get dan-
gerously indignant and wait strategically to
dethrone those who apparently outdid them.
In this game there is no semblance whatsoever
of servant leadership, Jesus’ style.
 As I reflect further on Matthew’s account
that it was the mother of James and John who
made the request to Jesus, I see the idea of
the mother playing the role of a king-maker.
This is strikingly similar to when key mis-
sion leaders desperately tries to position their
“sons and daughters” to be closest to the
centre of Power. In several cases this has led
to tragic choices of mission leaders. In fact
sometimes what passes as a smooth leader-
ship transition is simply a veneer of strategic
manipulation by the “mothers and fathers” of
mission! Is it really possible for both global
North and global South mission leaders to
be willing to entrust succession matters to
God instead of manipulation? Are we ready to
entrust leadership to emerging younger mis-
sion leaders, some of whom might be dancing
a totally different style from ours?
14. Marcia Tostes, Brazil
r e f l e c t ions
The Conference was held in a lovely resort in the wine producing region of south-
ern South Africa. It was a very African setting with the typical, round, grass-roofed huts.
Beautiful and adequate, perhaps, for more African climates, that is, hot ones. The truth
is, to the surprise of many, it was really cold. The warmth came from the good fellowship
among the participants united to reflect on the missionary movement.
I was very impacted at the conference through the devotionals given by dear Bishop
Niringiye, which led us to think that Jesus’ call, far beyond the emphasis on GO, empha-
sizes the COME AND FOLLOW ME—an invitation to follow Jesus to the most remote
corners of the world, taking the Gospel and showing the Lord’s love and compassion.
Besides that, I left with the riches of contacts, partnerships and the reminder that we
need to discover our potential and share it, may it be spiritual, physical and so on. We
Christians need to learn more about cooperating with one another in strategic ways.
Through the meeting of the Member Care Group, I learned a lot through 'living' with
people such as Marjorie Foyle and Larrie Gardner, in the way they handled the situations
we had to face, with wisdom and love.

Dancing a Different Dance
Who would not get depressed at the
above scenario of mission partnerships? This
is what leads me to long for a different dance.
How can we create a better scenario? Though
I do not have pat answers, I think we must
dare think out of the box and ask disturbing
questions. I am convinced that perhaps the
way forward might be in seeking answers to
these disconcerting questions.
15. Hikari Matsuzaki, Mission Mobilisation Task Force, Japan
What blessed me the most in SA06 was the morning devotion. Getting a glimpse of
African spirituality in it was one, but I was totally surprised by the fact that every mes-
sage confirmed things I had been hearing from the Lord in last few years. How could it
be, unless it was from the Holy Spirit, that a Ugandan Anglican Bishop and a grassroots
worker from the other end of the planet would get the same idea? Listening to those
messages again on the website has reconfirmed it. Many thanks to Bishop Niringiye for
his person and ministry. For listening, please go to:
www.worldevangelicalalliance.com/commissions/mc/mc_southafrica/devotions.htm

How can we who are involved in global

mission partnerships, dance to a higher call-
ing, a different audience, a more celestial
tune, and with an eternal perspective? At the
heart of all this is the question: to whom are
we really dancing? Is our primary goal human
acclaim or God’s glory? As an African mis-
sion leader, am I preoccupied with Africa’s
glory or God’s? I shudder as I wonder: how
different is the African missional dance from
the current African political ones like NEPAD
(New Partnership for Africa’s Development)?
Do I sense some disquieting echoes in the
over-hyped African Bible Commentary? Is it
really possible in our day to be content to do
everything we are supposed to do and then
say “We are unworthy servants; we have only
done our duty.” (Luke 17:10)
I long for a difference dance! However,
how can we allow enough space for the dif-
ferent dancers — African, Asian, European,
American, etc. — with all their different
rhythms, beats and paraphernalia? What
would it take to avoid the pitfalls of re-invent-
ing the same old, boring styles simply under
a different name and producer? Why is it that
we seem to think that harmony and uniform-
ity must be the hallmark of a truly global mis-
sion dance? Why not re-discover the beauty
in the apparent chaos of a spear-throwing
Maasai dancer alongside a vigorous Latin
Salsa dancer and a choreographed American
Ballet dancer? Must we always be comparing
and judging each dancer through the lenses
of either the over-bearing western dance mas-
ters or the ever-acquiescing non-western mis-
sion leaders? I earnestly pray that the object
and focus of our dance would be God and a
celebration of his cosmic redemption plan.
Finally, I wonder: how can we stead-
fastly resist the temptation to listen to our
own applause? How can we instead posi-
tion ourselves to listen to God as our dance
Composer, Conductor, Partner and Audience?
Why is it so difficult for the older-soon-to-
retire dancers to stop playing king-maker
dance games? How can there be a genuine
passing on of dance shoes to those emerging
younger dancers with a desire to do things
differently for God’s glory? What or who will
save us, in the face of failures, from mistak-
ing God’s grace for his stamp of approval?
How can we encourage a loving space to
honestly admit our failed “tribal” dances (and
dancers)? Why do I sense that the power
of our missional dance cannot be divorced
from the quality of our relationship with the
Great Dancer—our Triune God? Otherwise
it remains a hollow rendition however much
human applause it generates.
For this refreshingly different missional
dance, we need to position and re-align
ourselves to God’s drumbeats. We must be
willing to bravely open the closets and hon-
estly confront the ghosts of our past failed
missional dances. We also have to dare dream
of what God is able and willing to do in and
through us if we choose to accept his sover-
eign coaching in our dances. Ultimately all
our dances will be consumed in the Heavenly
Eternal Dance comprising of dancers from
“every nation, tribe, people and language,
standing before the throne and in front of the
Lamb” together with angels dancing "Amen!
Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and
honor and power and strength be to our God
for ever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 7:9-12).
It is this hope which makes me almost begin
to faintly hear the drumbeats of a different
and refreshing missional dance. How I pray
to God that I do not wake up only to discover
it was but a dream! <<
© Connections december 2006