What About Short-Term Missions?

Today I tripped across three excellent articles that deserve a wide reading. I'm too tired and it's too late to organize my thoughts into a cohesive post today, so I'll hope to do that later. But for now, let me share the links, and maybe some readers of this blog will come up with a cogent summary before I do. I'm convinced this is a complicated issue, so I'll look forward to reading comments. Several good ones have already been posted on the web in response to the first of these pieces.

It's from Huffington Post, a secular view that nevertheless has something to say to us in the church. Thanks to Christie Clayton, from whom I saw this first:

"Voluntourism: We Have to Stop Making This About Your Niece"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leila-de-bruyne/volunteer-africa-program_b_1676091.html

When she saw my "share" of this on Facebook, my daughter-in-law, Lisa, shared a link from a Christian writer urging his readers to reconsider mission trips. Darren Carlson wrote, "Why You Should Consider Cancelling Your Short-Term Mission Trips."

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/06/18/why-you-should-consider-cancelling-your-short-term-mission-trips/

And then I discovered that he wrote a follow-up piece, "Toward Better Short-Term Missions."

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/06/27/toward-better-short-term-missions/

Clearly, this is not a black-and-white issue. But also obviously, some of what happens under the banner of short-term missions is a waste if not downright harmful. So . . . dear readers, what is your experience, and what are your opinions on this subject? I'll share mine later this week.