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About this book
"Historian Fletcher incisively explores the dark underbelly of American evangelical missionary work via the experiences of missionaries' children. . . . Robustly researched and sharply analyzed, it's an illuminating exposé with important implications for evangelical Christianity." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
What do we learn about white evangelicalism from those raised by its heroes? From historian Holly Berkley Fletcher, herself a missionary kid, comes this first-of-its-kind examination of how the experiences of missionary kids illuminate broader currents in American Christianity.
As sidekicks to their parents' and churches' ambitions, missionary kids (MKs) face questions many white Christians eventually ask: about God's calling, sacrifice, faith, privilege, racism, abuse, and what belonging means. In The Missionary Kids, Fletcher reveals how MKs have intimate access to the movement's logic, longings, and ideals.
With penetrating research, sly wit, and an empathic gaze, Fletcher lays bare complicated emotions and troublesome truths. She investigates how calling, multiculturalism, saints, and indispensability can distract white American Christians from their own tradition's sins and failures. Drawing on her experience as a Southern Baptist MK in Kenya, on conversations with other missionary kids, and on the work of psychologists, historians, missiologists, and researchers, Fletcher paints an intricate portrait of family life on the front lines of the missionary movement. From boarding school to war zones, and from sexual assault by adult missionaries to fending for themselves so as not to distract from the work of the Lord, MKs bear the weight of their parents' choices and their churches' ideals. Fletcher delves into the "missionary industrial complex" that shapes the lives of missionary families, listening to MKs speak of the vexing, wordless longing for the places they've lived.
For many years, few people sought out MKs' real voices. God had called their parents to do great things, so the kids were beside the point. But the children of missionaries are beneficiaries of evangelicalism's rewards and victims of its failings.
And now they are ready to talk.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I: The Myth of Calling
- 1. Accessories to Martyrs
- 2. A Very Special Calling
- 3. Jesus Is Their Favorite
- Part II: The Myth of Multiculturalism
- 4. Bubble Boys and Girls
- 5. The Great (Race) Escape
- 6. A Cultural Trade Imbalance
- Part III: The Myth of Saints
- 7. The Untouchables
- 8. One Big Happy Family
- 9. A Breeding Ground for Abuse
- 10. Sent Home
- 11. Fighting for Change
- 12. Theology Trumps Policy
- Part IV: The Myth of Indispensability
- 13. Getting Out of the Way
- 14. Searching for Home
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Notes