Archive - August, 2010

Christ to the Buddhist Mind

August 28, 2010 in Thailand with 0 Comments

suebchurch

The Gospel never changes, but it must be clearly communicated for it to really be good news.  So, we recently put together a joint leadership conference with other missions leaders in our local area specifically focused on message contextualization in Thailand.

It was the first of its kind in our area and we were happy to be able to come together from different church backgrounds to do this.

We invited Pastor Bantoon and his wife Mili Boon-Itt from the Sueb Church in Bangkok to come and speak to us.

Bantoon is from a long line of Thai preachers and has a great burden to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ effectively communicated to Buddhists.  The “Sueb” church is one of the oldest churches in Thailand.

I met the Boon-Itts at a conference in Chiang Mai where they were presenting their teachings to other mission thinkers from Asia.

Our goal in inviting them was to take some of the understanding from that conference and bring it to the Isaan context.  The Boon-Itts had never been to the Northeast of Thailand before our invitation!  Of course, even within Thailand some things needed to be contextualized for our local area.  But Ajarn Bantoon made a good point. He said that even if Thai-Isaan people didn’t know what they really believe, Buddhist thinking has permeated their world view all of their lives, whether they understand it or not. Continue Reading…

Mr. Lek

August 28, 2010 in Thailand with 0 Comments

Lek

This is a great testimony that I was able to capture on video from the Khon Kaen International Church.  As Heidi Baker once said, Ministry is all about stopping for “the one.” Continue Reading…

Relocation to Chiang Mai

August 28, 2010 in Commentary with 0 Comments

thailand

After months of seeking counsel and prayer both in the US and Thailand, we have concluded that a time of transition is upon us again.

We are happy to announce that in October we will be moving to the city of Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand and a strategic base, not only for Thailand, but also for the rest of Southeast Asia.  From our current city of Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai is about thirteen hours by bus. Continue Reading…

Thai Family

August 28, 2010 in Thailand with 0 Comments

chiwit

We have been so blessed to be connected with and support some the finest young Thai leaders and believers in our area.

Though they are few and far between, they make up for in quality what they lack in quantity.

Here are a few pics of our friends.  We will miss them as we go, but will be back to visit, encourage, and minister as God allows us the opportunity.

First Few Formative Years of Missions Work

August 28, 2010 in Missions with 0 Comments

flags of world

Short term missions trips have grown in popularity, but they cannot be compared to what it takes to live long term cross culturally.

In an age of microwave instant meals, instant communication, and instant access to all knowledge through the web, many could assume that “instant” applies to cross cultural missions work as well.

The truth is that the most effective long term cross cultural missionaries are those who have paid the price and sowed their very lives for the people they are seeking to reach for Jesus.

This takes time and patience, both for the missionary and for those who support them.

Veteran Missiologist Gailyn Van Rheenen gives a more realistic view of what life and ministry is like for the long term cross cultural missionary as they are starting out.

“Approximately the first two years on the mission field are appropriately called the learning period or the adaptation stage. Missionaries are learning to live in new contexts and adapt to them.

During this period, four interrelated types of learning take place. Missionaries learn (1) to speak a new language, (2) to understand the culture of the people among whom they are working, (3) to form personal relationships within the culture, and (4) to develop models of ministry appropriate to the context.

Two extremes are common during this stage. On the one hand, some missionaries assume that they should not begin communicating the Gospel until the learning stage is completed–until language and culture learning are accomplished. Christianity, however, is the core of identity. Continue Reading…

Missions and Language Learning

August 24, 2010 in Missions with 1 Comment

The Failure of Christian Humanism in Thailand

August 24, 2010 in Missions, Thailand with 4 Comments

I recently came across this quote about the failure of Christian Humanism in Thailand and it really struck me.

On one hand, no one can deny the impact that cross cultural servants from the West have made on the modernization of Thailand, but on the other hand, I wonder if many lost their way in the process.

Did they turn from their original calling to make disciples of the nation and chose instead to focus their attention on mainly on social works?  I do remember reading somewhere about how many of the first missionaries to Thailand started off well.  They eventually started seeing a great revival but then shifted their focus to medical and other social works.  This took the majority of their resources and energy and the rest is history.

Here is the analysis of Indian leader KP Yohannan:

In few countries is the failure of Christian humanism more apparent than in Thailand. There, after 150 years of missionaries showing marvelous social compassion, Christians still make up only two percent of the entire population.

Self-sacrificing missionaries probably have done more to modernize the country than any other single force. Thailand owes to missionaries its widespread literacy, first printing press, first university, first hospital, first doctor and almost every other benefit of education and science. In every area, including trade and diplomacy, Christian missionaries put the needs of the host nation first and helped usher in the 20th century. Continue Reading…

Motivation & Those Who Have Never Heard

August 6, 2010 in Missions with 0 Comments

There was a recent post on the MissionsLaunch.com blog about the question of what happens to those who have never heard the Gospel.  I actually did a research paper in college on this topic, but felt that I would weigh in a little differently to the question this time.

Here is the question that was asked…

What motivates you to go? What do you think happens to those who have never heard?

Here is the response I gave “off the cuff” and from my heart.  It represents what I think is the right way to approach this question.

-I am motivated to go because God has commanded us to go. This is the last will of Jesus before he ascended. (Matt 28:18-20)

-I also go because I love Jesus. Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me more than these”? To which Peter answered “yes.” Jesus then said, “Feed my sheep, take care of my lambs.” (John 21:15-17)

-Jesus said he had “sheep”, or other people/followers, that were not yet a part of the fold. His desire was to gather them too. (John 10:16)

Jesus is called the “Lamb of God” because he was a sacrifice for our sins.  Like the Moravian missionary pioneers who have gone before us, we have the motivation to “win for the lamb, (Jesus), the rewards of his sufferings.”  Jesus has purchased people he has not yet received. (Rev 5:9).  He has suffered for them and paid the price, but they are not yet in the house, so to speak.

-Our passion drives us to join His Holy Spirit in the harvest field and fulfill the end times vision of Matthew 24:14. We have been called to be “ambassadors” for Christ and God “implores” through us to other people. (2 Cor 5:20) God’s desire and passion is projected to His world through His yielded sons and daughters. Continue Reading…