Lost in Translation

I've been reading Missionary Methods; St. Paul or Ours? by Roland Allen, a classic missions book originally published in the early 20th Century. Here is one helpful quote from the book:

"Slavery is not the best training for liberty. It is only by exercise that powers grow. To do things for people does not train them to do them for themselves. We are learning more and more in things educational that the first duty of the teacher is not to solve all difficulties for the pupil, and to present him with the ready-made answer, but to awaken a spirit, to teach the pupil to realize his own powers, by setting before him difficulties, and showing him how to approach and overcome them" (p. 145).

So true! Allen strongly urges a trust in the Holy Spirit's work in the nationals' lives. "But they won't get it right!" we protest. Perhaps true, but we must allow them to make some mistakes. They have the same Bible we have. They have the same Holy Spirit we have.