Shame Versus No Shame Cultures

Overhearing a conversation between my wife and our friend in India recently, my wife asked about the women she has been meeting with. These women were all Hindu’s that our Christian friend has known since high school and they occasionally met to talk about family, marriage and God.

“One of the ladies has accepted Christ as her Savior and was baptized,” our friend said. “Another one is still interested in Jesus and we meet often. Sadly, another friend has moved away. Her father got wind that she was interested in becoming a follower of Christ and put a stop to her visiting with us.”

In shame cultures the hierarchy of loyalty is family and religion before personal happiness or fulfillment. Arranged marriages in south Asia, even among Christians, shows respect to the group. “Honor killings,” though illegal, is justifiable in the eyes of many as dishonoring or shaming the family is a greater offense.

To most Westerners, shame cultures seem backward and oppressive. Individual freedom, me first, is what’s really important in our culture. Family, company loyalty and even children always takes a back seat to personal happiness.

The by-product of a self-centered society increasingly manifests itself into a no shame culture. There was a time in our country when adultery was a scandal. Today it’s mildly embarrassing, something that happens and eventually will be overlooked, and maybe even justified. Our no shame culture no longer knows how to blush. We live in a Britney Spears environment (“Oops, I did it again,” giggle, giggle) where a girl can have five kids with five different fathers and people are expected to celebrate the event, certainly not condemn (“Judge not lest you be judged,” has become American Christians favorite verse).

The lyrics are only slightly vulgar, so it’s okay and nothing to be ashamed of. The movie or sitcom is only partially suggestive, and though uncomfortable for a moment, it really is, after-all comical, so I will put away the shame so I can finish the show. The joke is crude, but, hey, it’s funny. The mother of all no shame activity (for some, certainly a minority) is Facebook, with posted pictures and discussions that has one objective…look at me, listen to me, sympathize with me. The no shame culture now believes the social network is the place to go to get affirmation for bad behavior. It’s also a place for enablers to show “grace” to those who have no shame.

We all have, and certainly I do, have a thousand things in our lives we are not proud of, even ashamed of. Rather than celebrate our flaws, however, let us be a little less transparent about our failings. As a guilt culture perhaps we need to feel a little bit guiltier. True, Christ has taken away our guilt, but it probably wouldn’t hurt if we blushed more, were more discreet and laughed about it less.

Lifelong Learning

A little girl returned from her first day at school. Her mom asked, “Did you learn anything?”

“Apparently not enough” the girl responded, “I have to go back tomorrow and the next day and the next…” (Max Lucado – Life Lessons Study Guide: Philippians).

Life long learning is exactly that, going to class every day. The things we learned today are important, but there is much more to discover. The knowledge we acquired yesterday (even 20 years ago) must be revisited frequently.

Recently I stood before a group of pastors and discussed the difference between being “missional” and being “missiological.” Like all classes, most in attendance were engaged, taking notes, asking questions. There are always a few, however, who act disinterested as though they heard it before or “what am I going to learn from this old man?” When young missionaries dismiss those who have a few miles on them I want to remind that Donald McGavran was still developing new missiological thought when he was in his ‘90’s. Peter Drucker, the guru of all business thinkers, was counseling and speaking until he died after in his ninth decade.

Standing before a group of young college students the old professor was challenged by the insolence of those whose knowledge superseded their intelligence by stating. With a tone of exasperation the old man declared, “I have forgotten more than you have yet learned.” It’s not how much one knows or has forgotten that’s the issue, but process of growing. Like the little school girl, we never learn enough, so we go back to class again tomorrow and the next day and the next…”

Timing a Decision

About this time last year my 90-year old father was increasingly a physical challenge for my 86-year old mother. They lived in an apartment and with each passing day dad’s ability to walk, feed and bathe himself was declining. Some members of the family wanted to immediately move dad into a nursing home, but since I was given the charge to determine their medical decisions I was reluctant to move him into a full care facility. Why? My mother was not ready to be separated from dad and, being a very proud man, my dad would have resented such a move.

Visibly angry, I was taken to task by one member of the family who told me in no uncertain terms that, “No decision IS a decision.” I’ve thought a lot about the statement over the past year. Is no decision a decision? I have come to the conclusion that the decision was not the issue, but the timing of the decision. The decision was a predetermined conclusion. There indeed would be a time when mom could no longer take care of dad and he would need full time care. But the issue was when, not what and the conflict rose because of timing, not substance. One person wanted immediate action, the other person, me, wanted to wait.

The hallmark of Americans is their quick decisions. I’ve heard most of my life that the characteristic of a leader is one who makes quick and decisive decisions. It is actually a flaw in character, perceived by some, that if someone does not make a decision that somehow they are weak or cowardice. No decision IS a decision, they are told. But is that true?

“If you love me you will marry me now,” a boy says to the girl. She does indeed love him and, yes would like to marry him, but now? If she says let’s wait awhile is she making a decision on marriage or timing?

Cross-cultural Christian workers are anxious for people to “make a decision for Christ.” The potential convert may be thinking about being a follower of Christ, interested in being a Christian, but is no decision a decision? I don’t think so. Process is an important aspect of decision-making.

In many of the countries I have worked decisions are often a slow process for two reasons. One is consensus, the bringing on board as many people as possible before a decision is made. Consensus drives American leaders crazy. “Just do it, for heavens sake,” they scream. “You don’t have to take a poll, just make a decision.” What these “deciders” don’t realize is that making independent decisions in their context is rude, arrogant and self-serving.

The other reason for going slow in making a decision in other cultures is because of family considerations. Whether it is making the decision in marriage, where to go to school or a business deal the family structure is often so tight that individual decision making is unheard of. As one Korean leader stated recently, “Americans focus on projects rather than people.” That’s being generous. In many situations American leaders believe that the project is more important than people, regardless of family concerns.

Though often a laborious process, if one is working in an egalitarian or hierarchal social environment it’s best that the foreign leader learn the rules of decision making before going in and making a demand for a ruling. To be a decider may make you feel efficient, but in the process you may well destroy your legitimacy.

Dad fell ill a few weeks after the family discussion, which required he be hospitalized. It was at that time I made the decision for dad to be transferred into a nursing facility. The timing was perfect as mom was able to recognize her inabilities to take care of dad and, for dad, his transfer from the VA hospital to the Veterans home was almost seamless and he was able to accept the decision. The decision was never the issue and we all knew it would be a tough call. Waiting for the proper time may not have been “efficient” by some, but it was the right decision at the right time.

Originality

G.K. Chesterton (1874 – 1936) was a prolific writer, 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4000 essays, and several plays. His most famous book probably was Orthodoxy, which had such an impact on C.S. Lewis that he called Chesterton his spiritual father, as well as Francis Shaffer and Gandhi. Chesterton was a Christian apologist, but not the type that was dry or without humor. Among his many famous quotes, "If there were no God, there would be no atheists." And, "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." On journalism he observed, "Journalism largely consists in saying ‘Lord Jones is dead’ to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive."

Apart from his writings, what strikes me about Chesterton was his style, or perhaps the lack of it in today’s world. A big man, he was 6 foot 4 inches tall and over 300 pounds; usually wearing a cape and a crumpled hat, with a swordstick in hand and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. Notorious forgetful it’s reported that on several occasions he sent a telegram to his wife Frances from some distant (and incorrect) location, writing such things as "Am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?" to which she would reply, "Home.”

So why include this bit of trivia in a blog? A reminder to me, and perhaps to others, that throughout history men like Chesterton lived, thought and put pen to paper those things that seemed relevant at the time. What’s interesting to me is that the thoughts of one who lived 100 years ago remain relevant today. Much of the minutia of my day, cutting the lawn, teaching a class, will pass away and be lost in the wind. The lawn needs to be cut, the class may indeed help the student to be a better person, professionally or spiritually, but it is to those who think about life and who will take the time to write about the insights that God gives each one of us that may indeed have an impact that will last longer than our existence on earth. G.K. was original, as God made each of us. His life is a reminder of the value of being authentic and not pursuing the fashion of a copy.

The Benefit of Wasting Time Reading

First off, I am not a good reader. By that I mean I struggle with focus whenever there is a book in my hand. Sometimes I think it’s because of my upbringing as my dad was not educated and didn’t put much stock in academics. He was a very hard worker and he taught me that the most worthless thing a person could be is idle. I will forever be grateful to my dad for the work ethic he instilled in me. In his world, however, which became mine, reading would be considered idleness. Even today, for me to sit in my office and read is a chore, a feeling of worthlessness. I am also a bit dyslectic and forever seeing words differently and not being able to pronounce them. I share this flaw only because some people believe that only scholars need to read and they read because they enjoy it. That is certainly not my case. I do not relish a good book; I’d rather cut wood.

Now that I have the disclaimer out of the way, I have learned down through the years the importance of reading. I force myself to read because I know that without it I will not grow spiritually or intellectually. As the old adage goes, “A river will only rise as high as its source.” If I want to know more I must make myself read.

Reading became a discipline for me while serving as a first term missionary in Kenya. My undergraduate study was in theology, but I knew nothing about anthropology. Struggling to make sense of the semi-nomadic worldview of the Turkana and Pokot, I discovered books and articles written by missionaries, which led me to books and articles in anthropology. On a furlough I enrolled in a post-graduate program and fell in love with missiology and the social organization of cultures. The one thing that formal education did for me was to force me to read, spending countless sleepless nights to finish my assignments.

A strange thing happens to many of us after we receive our degrees - because we aren’t required to read we don’t read. Another reason some of us quit studying is because we think we already know it all. I’ve been in the vocation of missions over 35 years and so I’ve seen it all (or think I have) and there really isn’t much new under the sun, or so I am tempted to think. For these two reasons I have created a mechanism of reading with purpose.

First, I scan every relevant article I read about missions, missionary life, raising support, culture or strategy. In the old days I would copy articles and file them in a metal cabinet. With today’s technology I now scan articles and file them on my website. Articles, chapters in books, are no longer a fleeting read but a treasure trove of insights for those who work overseas.

The second purpose for my reading is to be a resource for my students. Articles ranging from child marriages, missionary depression, contextualization of the Gospel to Muslims, circumcision initiation rites for Pokot girls and caste problems in India are all available for those who are in my classes. As a student I discovered the importance of reading articles that was outside my interest and I was forced to read other literature to broaden my worldview. My students are provided with articles and are required to read many of them for my class. With the ever-expanding articles posted, the students have a wide range of reference material that otherwise would not be available to them. (Because of copyright issues, access to these articles are made available only to those in my class or enrolled in our distance-learning course).

Reading will always be a chore for me. Honestly, how can one truly be excited about reading in the American Ethnologist “Materializing Piety: Gendered anxieties about faithful consumption in contemporary urban Indonesia”? Yet, by me wading through such articles and mining the gems between the dusty and unpronounceable verbiage of anthropologists, I become a bridge of meaning to an otherwise waste of paper (read my past blog on how I made this article a bridge of meaning for missions).

Another word of wisdom from my dad was this: “Sometimes in life you have to do things you don’t want to do, but you do them anyway.” I may not always enjoy it but at the end of the day if I have enriched others and myself through my reading it will not have been a wasted day, I will not have been idle.

LCCTI Missionary Training

A few weeks back we announced a new training project for missionaries. One question I often get is "How much will it cost." You can view the answer to those questions by going to our webpage: Lewis-Training.com/BYOTP.htm.

One of the strengths of our training program is that we bring the classroom to you, the student, rather than ask the missionaries to uproot their family to come to our campus (actually, we don't have a campus, but all schools and other training programs do). When factoring in cost remember that the student does not have to pay for lodging or food. Food and lodging, along with transportation to the training campus, can add up to be hundreds of dollars, sometimes exceeding the cost of tuition.

Discipling Missionaries

Click HERE To Read Our Latest Report.

Contempt

Attitude. That’s about 75% of winning or losing.

I recently downloaded Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, to my iPod. As I take my evening walks I can read without reading - a good way to kill an hour while on my trek.

The author, Malcom Gladwell, cited a study by a marriage counselor who stated that most marriages breakup because of one crucial reason – CONTEMPT. The underlying reason for conflict is a husband or wife who has contempt for their partner. Words like “You’re stupid,” “You’re lazy,” “You’re irresponsible,” or “You’re fat,” are all contempt statements. Gladwell says you can see the contempt in marriage counseling as the husband or wife rolls their eyes when the other speaks.

Contempt rears its ugly head in all relationships: children’s contempt for parents, employee/employer contempt in the workplace and even in the church among laymen/clergy. If at any time there is interpersonal conflict, usually there is one person who somehow feels they are superior and they manifest that feeling with contempt on those they perceive as being not quite as equal as they are.

I have often observed this arrogance on the mission field. Call it ethnocentrism bigotry or intolerance; the petulant attitude displayed is always a spirit of contempt. Caste and tribe conflict is due to contempt. Muslims killing other Muslims, Hindu’s killing Christians, are a result of a contemptuous attitude. Missionaries, which have a disdain for nationals, is a by-product of contempt. It’s a universal disease.

I’m not sure the root problem that resides in the heart of the contemptuous. Perhaps it is a feeling of insecurity or the desire to control or to manipulate. It seems that in every conflict unresolved, a wounded soul reverts to contempt. How different from the attitude of Jesus. The Pharisees had contempt for just about everyone who they perceived as not following the Law. Jesus, however, was a friend of sinners. The Apostle Paul has a good remedy for contempt: in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others (Philippines 2:3,4). If we do that, surely we will not sit among the scornful (Psalm 1:1).

Missional or Missiological?

A friend of mine sent me a PDF file on a study entitled, Nine Game-Changers for Global Missions: Trends that Shape the Future, by the Leadership Network, and asked for my thoughts. So here it is.

The nine “game changers” revolve around nine themes and trends, at least from the perspective of the 50 leaders who contributed to the article, which focuses on cities, mutuality, partnering, investing in leaders, combining good news and good deeds, greater financial accountability, business as mission, focus, and technology. Much of these trends are not particularly new, but what was unique about this article is that it gave examples of churches that focused on these trends. Each has merit and, for that reason alone, the article is a worthwhile read. However, as a missiologist, there were some issues I feel needs to be addressed.

Large Churches Versus Average Churches - Almost all of the examples of “best practices,” in this article were churches of substantial size. The average congregation in the U.S. is less than 200 in membership. While large churches with substantial mission budgets may be able to focus their resources to their particular interest, churches with modest resources would probably find this article stifling. Most of what is written in this piece would likely be irrelevant to the majority of American churches.

Mutuality and Partnerships – The trend today among larger churches is to by-pass, or at least minimize, North American career missionaries and focus on partnering with nationals. As a non-resident career missionary I understand and appreciate the need to come alongside the majority world church and partner with them in their efforts to reach their own nation with the Gospel. However, the underlining theme of “game changers,” is that partnership from the Western side is overwhelmingly financial, either in giving aid to the developing church or sending teams to assist the foreign church. Though this article is careful to point out that they don’t want to be guilty of paternalism, I question if that is possible.

I contend that good partnership is assisting the national church in what they need (not necessarily what they want) in terms of training. If partnerships is about assisting the church in how to take the message of Christ cross-culturally to Muslims, Hindus and Buddhist, or helping the national church leaders know how to properly disciple their congregation in contextualized outreach, then I am onboard. However, most programs discussed in this article is woefully lacking in missiological understanding, which is my next point.

Missiologically Challenged - Having just returned from teaching in Kenya I was amazed by how many short-term mission groups had invaded the country (by some estimates, over 4 million North Americans take a short-term mission trip throughout the world each year). Many of these groups were there to do evangelism or social work. In a country that claims to be 80% Christian I wonder how many of these groups worked among the most least evangelized people groups in the country, i.e., the Somali refugees in the north, Muslims on the coast or the animists living in the northwest.

Most of what I read in “game changers,” hardly anything to say about reaching the most unreached peoples of the world. 3.6 billion people in this world have never met a Christian. While I applaud the efforts of the North American church to build hospitals for AID patients, schools and orphanages, how do these good works reach the Sufi’s of Bangladesh, the Buddhist of Laos or the Hindu’s in India?

Missions always have been and always will be about building relationships. While “game changers” will make the Western church feel as though they are truly engaged in the Great Commission, the world will not be impacted significantly without a well thought out strategy and a commitment to fundamental principles of evangelism – a dedication to live among those who have never heard about Christ and His salvation.

I realize that I am a throwback of an era of old missions. However, I still believe that missionaries, be they American or non-American, must incorporate the biblical principle of incarnation, which means learn the language of the people, live among them, and learn how to contextualize the message of Christ to those God has called them to serve. Being actively engaged in going overseas, developing partnerships and all of that has merit, but being missional is not the same as being missiological.

The Mystery Continues

Dad’s funeral is over. The service was honoring to him, which was a comfort for my mom. Many nice things said about dad, some from people that knew him, many from those who had little more that a superficial acquaintance with him. The overarching theme of the day was that dad was in a better place now; released from the shackles of the physical mortal and robed in the spiritual immortal. It’s a lovely sentiment, but the mystery of death remains, at least for me. C.S. Lewis wonders aloud in A Grief Observed, if at death a person doesn’t also suffer the pain of separation. Who knows? Certainly not me, for I have yet to experience death.

My mom was telling me this week of a friend of hers whose husband has been diagnosed with cancer without hope of a cure. He sits in his chair all day crying, knowing that he is powerless against the inevitable. I have no way of knowing if this man is a follower of Christ, but whether he is or not, there is a certain haunting honesty in his response to his impending demise. Solomon, the guy reported to be the wisest man that ever lived, pondered the futility of life and the reality of death in his ancient book. His conclusion was that a man’s life is not much more than the life of a beast; that the fool and the wise, the rich and poor, the wicked and the righteous ultimately end up the same way. Since we only know life and death with its obvious outward signs of a lifeless corpse, why shouldn’t we be afraid? The valley of the shadow of death, as Lewis puts it, is often more like a circular trench.

All religions, functionally, are the same when it comes to trying to explain the great mystery. Some suggest the soul goes to paradise, others propose that a mans soul goes through a process of rebirth in physical form for cleansing until we reach perfection that leads to nothingness; we become a thought in a cosmic abyss. Christian theologians teach that our souls go to God to await the end time when our spirit will be joined to a new body. All conjuncture of course, based on centuries of interpretation. We rest our hope on these “faiths,” as it is the only thing we can hang our mortal hats on. In the end, we will spend our days crying until there are on more tears to shed or rejoice in the hope we have in Christ until there is no longer breath in our bodies. Meanwhile, the mystery continues.

Personal: Dad's Passing

You can read about this announcement by going to THIS LINK

Is Church Growth In India An Obstacle In Reaching The Masses?

In the most recent issue of Christianity Today, Tim Stafford writes about church growth in India. The premise of his article is that the growing church is primarily among the Dalits (formerly known as "outcastes" or "untouchables,"), Other Backward Castes (OBC's) and tribal people. Stafford’s article seems to lose focus as he ends up talking about a mission hospital in the North as well as the large population of Christians in the Northeast. There are interesting statistics but, like so many such articles, numbers are sometimes guesstimates rather than reliable data. I always appreciate, however, the focus on India and missions and encourage my readers to go to this CT link as well as the YouTube clip.

My problem with this, and so many articles about church growth in India, is that it misses the larger issue of Christianity in the sub-continent. Eighty percent of the population is Hindu, fifteen percent are Muslims. Reporting that there are possibly 70 million Christians in the country, though impressive and certainly something that we Christians rejoice over, still ignores the reality that MOST of the Indian population is not being reached and there is no real strategy on how to penetrate the Hindu, Muslim, Jain or Sikh population.

One of the comments to Stafford’s article sums up the problem…Hindu’s see Dalit conversion as exploitation and a Western approach to human rights. My landlord in Delhi for four years had a disdain for Christian evangelists, as he perceived their efforts as manipulation, not a seeking after truth. Even if an upper caste Hindu, successful business professional or an educated Indian was interested in the claims of Christ, they would turn away from further investigation because the face of Jesus, as a group of Christians professionals once confessed to me, is an image of a Dalit.

The only way that Christ will be accepted by the masses in India is through a truly contextualized approach, i.e. Christ following Muslims reaching Muslims, upper caste followers of our Lord being a witness to their Hindu friends and family. Progress on this front is happening, but at a much slower pace.

Jesus was more popular with the outcastes (tax collectors, lepers, the blind) than the acceptable and respected religious leaders of his day. Some things don’t change. The caste system in India is a cultural prison that the privileged will always embrace over honest dialogue. While we are grateful that Christ is indeed the answer for the oppressed, understand that progress among the few does not translate into a mass movement to all.

The Best Of Kenyan Music

If you like Kenyan church music you'll love this. The first church we established West Pokot the Makutano back in 1976 is still going strong.

African History: Pokot, Turkana and Karamonjong

Sitting in a café in Kitale yesterday I overheard the discussion of some wazungu (white people – Americans). One man was with about 5 college age kids talking with two middle aged single women. While sipping my chai (tea) I surmised that the young people group was part of some university summer team; the two women were missionaries. Both of them talked extensively about Pokot, a semi-nomadic tribe 200 kilometers away. The women talked about the primitive conditions they lived in while the leader of the college group explained that they would be spending the night in a town called Kachelipa and it would be more like camping.

As they talked about the Pokot and their ministries I wondered if any of them had read or heard of “The Social Structure of the Kara Pokot and Its Implications for Church Planting,” written by yours truly, and that much of the research was done when I was living in a mud hut down in Kachelipa.

When I first began working in Pokot, back in 1976, there were very few missionaries of any kind working in those remote areas. I am not suggesting I was the first, as the African Inland Mission and the Roman Catholics arrived in some places before I did. However, in some places where I worked those group were not serving and I was, indeed, the first mzungu to work in certain areas in the bush of Kenya.

I left Kenya as a resident in 1989 and now serve as a non-resident missionary teaching anthropology, cross-cultural communication and church planting in places like Kenya, India and Ukraine. Of the three components of missiology one is history (the other two being theology and anthropology). I challenge my students to know the history of the people they are working with so you will have a better understanding of their present in light of the past. To ignore history, including church/Christian history, among the people we are working with leads to assumptions that are possibly incorrect, i.e. the people have never heard the Gospel. The first documented publication on the Pokot was printed in 1911. To assume, 100 years later, that the Pokot is a new venture is classic example of missing the point due to poor historical study.

Ironically, speaking of history, yesterday I met John Wilson, an 84-year-old man who has lived in Uganda and Kenya most of his life, 16 years living among the Karamonjong people. My time with John was brief but he has a fascinating collection of material culture from the tribes of Turkana, Karamonjong and Pokot. Typing away on a manual typewriter in his dusty Treasures of Africa Museum (reminding me that one person’s junk is another person’s treasure), meeting Jack was like peering back to the days when the semi-nomadic’s of Kenya were untouched by modernism. If one is working with these pastoralists it would seem worthwhile to spend some time with people like John, or Father Anthony, the Catholic priest who has lived in Kacheliba for 40 years.

History is one of those subjects that many in America care little about. However, no matter where you serve in this world, spend some time learning about the past. Find that old man or woman, who may seem eccentric and perhaps senile, and mine for nuggets of days gone by. Who knows, they may be sipping tea in the backside of some café.

New Missionary Training Program: BYOTP

I received a call from a couple going to Haiti yesterday. They belong to a small mission organization that has an orphanage in that country and know they need some training before going to the field. They have five kids, can’t afford to uproot their family and go to school, so they contacted me. My advice was for them to find at least five people who needed training and I would be willing to set up a training program. After the call my thoughts took on more definition and I came up with BYOT (Build Your Own Training Program – not Bring Your Own Toilet Paper).

People need flexible training options. I firmly believe that my instruction program in how to understand cultures can make any person at least 50% better if they have had some education or field experience and can 100% better missionaries if they have had no training at all. Give me 15 days and I can open a world of awareness that will stay with people for the rest of their lives. Sounds like an Info Commercial, but after 35 years in missions, training hundreds of missionaries in over 30 countries, yeah, I believe I can stand by that claim. Why? Because my training leads people to understanding culture and help people ask the right questions. I don’t give answers, but I lead people on how they can discover the answers by knowing the right questions AND, most importantly, not make assumptions.

The details of BYOTP is on the website. I will give more information on how it works to those who contact me through email. I prefer 15 days, but if a person only has one week, we can give them a crash course that is better than nothing. Build your own training program, but by all means do something. Going to the field without any preparation is harmful to the missionary, family and people they work with.

Measuring Meaning

Rich Strahm, who invited me to teach a class on “Response To World Religions,” asked me how I felt about teaching so few students? A former missionary to the Philippines, he and his wife have been working in Ukraine for the past 10 years. His vision is to mobilize Ukrainians for cross-cultural work and the missions program at the Kiev Theological Seminary is relative new. It’s a work in progress, but he is involved in a noble calling.

Before I made the commitment to teach I was aware it was not a large class. Unfortunately it was smaller than expected as some of the students in the program didn’t show up. How did I feel about teaching to a small class?

First of all, the size of a class or meeting has never been a criterion for me. I realize that many pastors in the states thrive on big numbers; it gives them meaning. I remember an Indian pastor who told me that if I moved to Chennai I could have big seminars. I told him I am more interested in finding the place of need, which to me, was in Delhi where the church was much smaller and I was not interested in a hall full of those who have ample opportunities to attend seminars. My colleagues in Kenya criticized me when I decided to work in the bush among two tribal groups, Turkana and Pokot. They thought the size of those tribes, about 250,000 each, spread over a vast desert was not strategic; they preferred working in the cities where the numbers were greater. However, I countered, no one was working among the semi-nomads whereas there were plenty of mission activity in their region. Numbers is not always a gauge in who and where one should work.

Second, the quality of those attending is more important to me than how many bodies there are. People preparing for cross-cultural work will always be a smaller group, but they are usually the most dedicated. I am not suggesting that those who take the theology courses are less godly or committed, but those who seek to serve Christ in another land among a different people than their own, usually, not always, have a depth about them that is unique and profound.

Third, though I never know who God will use in His work, I believe my teaching is a part of moving people toward His purpose. In the short time I have been working in Ukraine, one brother is now serving in Syria and another is working among the Gypsies in his country. It’s how God surprises that is more important to me than the guarantee of an audience.

Do I wish I were teaching before 50 rather than 5? Certainly. But consider those who were in my class: One lady and her husband are working in the Far East part of Russia, near Japan and North Korea. Another girl is from Kazakhstan, whose family came out of Islam. One guy is studying Mandarin and has been working with Chinese students in Kiev. He plans on moving to China after his studies. Another young lady has a desire to serve in India.

The measure of meaning cannot be only the expense of a plane ticket or the size of the class. For me it’s the heart of those I am privileged to teach, not how many listen to my words.

Repent, Believe, Follow: Worldview In Words

If you ask a Russian about his conversion he/she will generally talk about the day they “repented.”

Ask that same question to a North American and they might very well say it was they day they believed, got saved or trusted in Christ. (Interesting thought…you “trusted”?)

Muslim background Christians in Iraq might frame their conversion as becoming followers of Isa (Jesus), meaning that they might maintain much of their cultural belief, but rather put their emphasis on following Jesus rather than Muhammad.

The difference in Russians, Americans and Iraqis in their confession of faith is more than mere semantics. The distinction lies at the core of who they are as a people and how they express their decision of faith. Russians and Americans are “guilt” cultures. For a Russian or Ukrainian, salvation is less about faith than it is about repenting for one’s sins before a Holy God.

Individualistic Americans, while guilt driven, take a softer approach to their conversion, as though they were doing God a favor in “trusting” in Him. Trusting is a good thing for Americans as it acknowledges that we trust God more than we do ourselves and, for a self-sufficient driven society, that's a big deal.

Muslims and Buddhist are “shame” cultures. Family and clan ties run deep. It’s the holistic dynamic of the society that is all-important therefore being a follower of Jesus is done with deliberate hesitation. Being baptized, while a big deal for guilt cultures, is seen as bombastic to those who want to maintain harmony and equilibrium in shame cultures. To cause shame on family members for ones individual decision is not seen as courageous but rather selfish and arrogant, two offences that is unpardonable in such societies.

Words have meaning within context. In studying culture, learn what words mean to those who speak them. Repent, believe, trust, submit…these are the keys to understanding the worldview of others.

What Matters Most

In speaking on science and religion, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated, “Science makes major contributions to minor needs whereas religion, however small its successes, is at least at work on the things that matter most.”

As I prepare for another two weeks away from home to teach a small group of missionary students in Ukraine I need to be reminded that, no matter how small the task may seem, what we do as missionaries does have meaning. In this world of materialism, even the church is caught up in that which they can seen or touch. As I pack my bags I think of the countless hundreds of my colleagues who are laboring with little fanfare under difficult situations. I am thinking of a brother in Uzbekistan, who wrote,

“The day before yesterday I was driving home and my wife called and told me to come quickly. There was a crowd of people at the gate who wanted to come inside. My wife shut the gate and would not let them in and they acted like they were going to break through the gate. They started yelling at her and shouting threats against her. Only a couple of these men presented identification. It was at this time that I arrived home and saw what was going on. They told me to open the house and I asked the police officers to present a warrant before I would let them inside. After a few minutes one police officer showed me a written complaint from people in our neighborhood. The complaint stated that there was a Christian family in the neighborhood and that the Christian man was poisoning the rest of the neighborhood with his beliefs. It said that they didn’t want a family like this living in their neighborhood. I could not see who filed the complaint and when I asked for a copy of it I was denied.

Later, Shukurov, the head of our neighborhood, came to our house and began shouting that in this neighborhood it is unacceptable to not be Muslim. When I tried to calm him down he started swearing at my wife and children. Then, he began to threaten us with eviction from the neighborhood.

Please pray for the safety of my wife and children. Every two months the police check my passport and documents and I notice them writing down information about my wife and children. They confiscated my passport as well. Pray for wisdom and also for my court date. Thank you very much for your prayers and encouragement. This is now the most difficult time: the period of waiting.”

To you who pray and support missionary endeavors, may I encourage you to remain faithful in the vital role you play in world evangelism. To my fellow cross-cultural workers, may we take courage in what we do, knowing that even though the successes may seem small, we are working on what matters most.

Missionary Tithe

For the past couple of years a mission organization has asked me to speak at their candidate school and I am asked to speak on what people need to when they get on the field. I have entitled these talks, “It’s Tuesday, Now What Do I Do?” In addition to what people need to do the first 12 months they are on the field I have a list of things new missionaries should not do! In this category I touch on the sticky issue of the missionary tithe.

At the outset let me state clearly that I am well aware we are not under the Mosaic Law and the tithe is not applicable for New Testament believers. Nevertheless, I grew up believing that giving ten percent is a good yardstick to gauge Christian stewardship. The little Baptist church I attended in Gardena, California drilled into me that a Christian should give, at a minimum, a tithe or we might be guilty of holy theft, i.e., robbing God! So, from the proceeds of my paper route, for every quarter I collected (yes, that was the months subscription in 1959) two and half cents of that two bits belonged to God. To this day I still remember the pride I took in placing my “tithe,” usually about a dollar and half, in an offering envelope each month. It’s one of the really great spiritual habits that were formed in my childhood. I still enjoy giving to God’s work.

When I arrived in Kenya as a missionary many years later there was a discussion among my colleagues on where the missionary tithe should go? I must admit, I have vacillated on this issue over the years. My friends on the field were adamant that the tithe should be given to the local church that a missionary was affiliated with on the field. I do indeed believe that the local church should receive the tithe, but the problem I had with that theory was that it gave a false impression, especially in developing country like Kenya, of how well that local assembly was doing.

Working among semi-nomadic tribes of Turkana and Pokot, the offering of 50 church attendees wouldn’t be enough to buy a half-kilo of beans. If, however, I put in my tithe then the church was almost self-supporting, able to pay the pastor a salary and going a long way in constructing a sanctuary. And, while my fellow missionary friends seemed to have no problem with reporting such church growth, I had a big problem with it. In addition to falsifying an autonomist national church to donors back home, the local church itself operates on a bogus assumption. Forty cents given by the congregation and forty dollars provided by the missionary is not congregational solvency, it’s an ecclesiastical ponzi scheme.

Additionally to be misleading, a missionary’s tithe sucks the life out of motivation for local Christians in the assembly in getting involved in their home church. There is no incentive for the national member to give to the church as their attitude is, “If it’s really important, the missionary will take care of it.”

I came to the conclusion that a missionary should not give a tithe on the field but to his/her home church back in the U.S., Korea, Philippines or wherever that missionary is from. Apart from the reasons mentioned above, I am coming to believe that the issue of money control is a sin against God.

We all know or have heard of people who withhold giving when they are offended or disagree with how money is spent by their local church. I do not see in Scripture where the Lord’s followers are given that power. I believe we have an obligation to give to the Lord’s work and I have a conviction (like Paul, I don’t speak by command but by persuasion) that my giving should not directly related to how it benefits me or, in the case of a missionary, my ministry. As a result of that persuasion, as a missionary on the field until today, I give to the local church of my membership, not my residence.

While a resident in Kenya of course I supported and raised money for many projects. But I never propped up a church with a false regular tithe. Indeed, I went out of my way, to the dismay of many African congregations, NOT to support their local church because I wanted to disciple them in the great gift of giving and not rob them of that joy, though they were not particularly happy with this aspect of spiritual growth.

To this day my wife and I tithe to our sending church. We also give weekly to the church we attend as well as to certain missionaries we support. And by the way, this is out of our salary, not from our organization. I think it’s unseemly for mission heads to tithe to their organization for the benefit of their own ministry.

Our gifts should be to God freely. If our giving is so we can control how the money is used I think we are not only cheating Him, but ourselves as well. That’s my opinion, but no doubt some would disagree.

The Mari People of Russia

During Soviet times the city of Yoshkar Ola in the region of Mari El was “closed,” to outsiders. Because of the sensitive work of military projects, only Russians on special assignment could enter the area and, of course the residents were locked in. After church recently, myself along with my colleagues, visited a small Mari village ten miles outside Yoshkar Ola.

The living area of the home we visited is sandwiched between the car garage on the right and a storage/utility courtyard on the left. The first floor of the house is the living area, wood plank floor, small couch, dining room table, refrigerator and bookcase. Gas and water pipes run across the walls, as well as electrical outlets. The cooking stove was in another room below the platform living space; a staircase leads up to the sleeping area. The window sill had an assortment of potted plants and as we looked across the street we were told that the snow was so high this year that they could step outside their window and walk across most of the village.

The Mari people of the Volga region of Russia have a population of roughly 500,000, a Finnish-Ugric people who are sometimes characterized as the last practicing European pagans. The Joshua Project states that there are few, if any, evangelicals among the Mari, but we were honored to have Sunday lunch (buckwheat and liver, potatoes and mushrooms, bread, pickles, cheese) with a Mari family who were believers and attend a local Baptist Church in Yoshkar Ola.

As a quasi-anthropologist I am fascinated with the culture of the Mari. Within this people group there are clans divided between the “low” (those who live in the Volga Valley) and “high” (hill) Mari population. The wife of the family proudly brought out a traditional dress of their clan and, in times past as well as traditional holidays today, clans are indentified by the different patterns of dress. I asked about marriage restrictions between clans and they said there wasn’t any, but I still wonder as all cultures have incest boundaries.

As a missiologist I am interested in what cultural boundaries can be crossed in presenting the Gospel. The Tatar people, the Mari neighbors to the east, are resistant to Russians but are more welcoming to Ukrainian’s. The Mari’s have no problem mixing with Russians but do not easily interact with Tatar’s. The pastor of the Baptist church we attended on Sunday was from Moldova.

With less than .20% evangelical Christians among the Mari, I felt privileged to be in the home of a Mari Christian family. Through rough translation we learned the eldest brother (center) came to the Lord first, who in-turn led his brothers (our host, left). While the church worldwide spends a lot of energy on programs the reality is that most people who come to Christ through family lineage and friends.

Crossing cultural boundaries in presenting the Gospel is a study of people groups. Through my partnership with Craig Ludrick and CLDI we are making in-roads in facilitating the church in understanding that the Great Commission is not just to the nations, but to every ta ethne groups in the world.