Understanding Interpersonal Relationships in Africa, Part 3 of 3

Let me give an example from my own life. My family and I live in an apartment, have no domestic help, and do not have a car. (Each one of these facts places us in the lower middle class ranks of an average middle-class Ghanaian). One day I was in a taxi traveling to town when the taxi driver asked me if I was getting my car fixed (addressing me in English), to which I told him that I did not have a car (which I said in English to be polite, since the question was asked in English). He then asked me how long I had lived in Ghana, to which I told him I had lived in Ghana for four years. When I told him this he paused and then addressed my friend (he being an African that I was traveling with) and said to him in Twi (not thinking that I could understand, because I was foreign), “So why does the white guy park his car at home and hide it so that people think he does not have one?” My friend told him that I did not have one, and the man had trouble believing such a thing.

Because of past history, the lifestyle of international businessmen, diplomats, and some missionaries, not to mention the preconceived idea of the African, it is almost impossible for the average person in Africa to view a missionary as poor.


Let me tell you one more experience. One day one of my helpers called me and told me that he wanted to have a meeting with me. It sounded very urgent on the phone so we met just an hour later. When I met this young man, I asked him what he wanted to speak with me about. He told me that he was concerned that I was buying a motorbike for use while on visitation. (I had told the people that I was praying for the money to buy one so that I could save money on transportation and save time while on visitation). I asked him if he was concerned with my safety since Africa drivers are not known to be the best drivers in the world. He said no, he was concerned for my status (concerned with what people thought of me). Of course, when he said this I was shocked. I asked him why. Was a motorbike considered to be sinful? To this he gave me this reply: a motorbike is a poor man’s vehicle. He said that Ghanaians will accept an African pastor that rides one, because a pastor might be poor, but a white man riding one was not acceptable. He said that if a white man rode a motorbike, then it was like he was telling people that he was poor, and no white men are ever poor so people would think that the white man was a liar! I asked him if it was a poor testimony, to which he said no!

The missionary needs to see these facts very clearly. It is very important for the missionary in Africa to maintain a simpler lifestyle than most expatriates that live in his same country. The missionary will always battle with public opinion. The moment the average African sees a missionary, he does not think of a person that has forsaken all to follow God, a person that has come to a new culture to reach souls. The first impression is of a rich man that has everything in life. I will state here that driving SUV’s and Land Rovers does not help with this regard and neither does living in large compounds with large accommodations. Is it possible then for the missionary to live on a local level? Is it even wise? No. Many of the things of a totally local lifestyle would greatly hinder the missionary’s health, family life, and children’s spiritual growth. (For proof of this please read Isobel Kuhn’s book “In the Arena”, pg. 208). But this being stated, everything above basic needs for life will make it more difficult for the local people to see past your status as a rich man.

To illustrate the way that Africans see there Western co-workers, missionaries, and bosses, here is a quote from David Maranz, African Friends and Money Matters, pg.134, “A Kenyan friend gave me his opinion about what people should pay relative to their means on a scale of 1 to 10. It can be charted as follows,

Class of persons ---------------------------Relative price they should pay

Tourist (Foreigner) …………………………………………...…...........10
Senior government functionaries and rich people………………...8
Middle class or average people…………………………………...........5
Poor people…………………………………………………….................2-3

This quote has been given to let the Westerner see that the average person places him/ her very high on the economic ladder. The Westerner is even higher in the minds of local people than government leaders, which many times have unlimited resources.

What is to be gained from all of this? What a missionary does with his money and how he displays his wealth will greatly influence his friendships, followers, and ministry. When he is asked for financial help that first time, he is making a greater decision than simply giving that money. He is deciding on a friendship. He is making a decision on the direction of his ministry philosophy.

The missionary that starts to face these requests needs to make some very important decisions. Will he follow his home culture or host culture? What does the Bible have to say about the basis of Christian relationships and ministry?

In the end the choices are basically three: 1. the missionary takes on the cultural role of the ‘big man’. The locals come to him for all there needs and he freely gives. The locals appreciate his wealth and generosity and he has many friends and followers. 2. The missionary tries to down play his social/ economic status, and seeks to be more local (middle class). He also tries to follow the Western mode of relationships, (this can be for religious or cultural reasons) and seeks to build his relationship on a non-material foundation. The locals appreciate their interaction with this missionary. They like the way he seems to connect with them more as equals, but some do not appreciate or understand the lack of giving, and therefore he has fewer followers. 3. The Westerner continues to live a public high status life (in the African viewpoint) but retains a Western view on relationships. The missionary will be admired only for his wealth, but he will have few to no followers and will have many disgruntled personal acquaintances.

No man is an island unto himself. Every choice we make influences others, but as a missionary this has even greater weight. How you choose to live out and maintain your friendships in Africa will greatly determine the future of your ministry.