THREE WORLDS DIARY
Back from Russia, Thinking of Japan
I'm back from Russia...and pretty wiped out. I'm really tired and need a couple of days to catch up with myself before getting back to things. I got in late last night after a 12 hour trip (you'd think I was going from LA to Hong Kong) and am going to take a few days to rest and be with my family before I start uploading pictures and things. I have about 10 days before the next event (special visitors and 3W London) and I am planning to catch up on work--but more importantly, catch up on family time. While in Siberia, we did hear word about the Earthquake in Japan. Now that I am back in Berlin, I am online and catching up on the news and images. Japan's 9/11 is an understatement. Already, a much higher percentage of people in relation to the country's population and a much larger number of people period have died in this Earthquake/Tsunami.
I can't get over the irony. The atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were so traumatic for the Japanese people. It scarred the national psyche to the present day. Yet the country rebuilt incredibly...and ironically used nuclear power in a big way for cheap energy. How Shakespearean if the country ends up being devastated twice by nuclear forces. Hopefully these reactors will shut down and the radiation damage can be contained--but it's frightening to see how decades of hard work and millions of lives can be derailed and destroyed in an instant. Truly we are fragile creatures.
Off to Russia
Just as it's starting to slightly warm up here in Germany, I'm off to Siberia. Kelley and I are heading to Chelyabinsk for a board meeting. The church in Chelyabinsk is doing very well and just recently planted a new congregation in the city. As their ministry expands and they stand on their own two feet, they are asking us to serve on a board that will help to provide guidance and accountability in the future.
This is a very wise move on their part and one I would encourage all churches and organizations to do. You need outside perspective and accountability to prevent churches or your organization from being run by one person, one family, or tribe. Churches often seal themselves off from this kind of accountability and transparency and when the troubles come, the bullies can easily win. It often does NOT come down to Biblical standards or organizational standards, but to subjective preferences. So this move by the Russian church is a very wise one.
Even here at Three Worlds we already have a layer of accountability toward Global Missions. And we have another layer by utilizing a team approach where we all see what's happening and we can all contribute to the dialogue and decisions (not just Jamie and I). But even though these two layers exist, we are adding a third layer in the near future. This third layer will consist of supporting church pastors and wise leaders who will make sure that Three Worlds stays the course and makes decisions wisely and with integrity. You'll hear more about that later in the year.
We have to make a lot of tough decisions and we think the more accountability the better, so our system is designed to bring more people in and keep transparency levels high.
Unfortunately this is not true of many Christian organizations and churches. Evangelical Protestantism--particularly free church movements--are especially bad about allowing everyone to become the Pope. Subjective experience wins the day, and it's just a matter of whose hands get to control the concentrated decision-making power. Everything rises or falls on that one person's wisdom, giftings and experience which are inevitably limited. And their motives. This is dangerous. It's one of the reasons why Pentecostal churches in particular can be so prone to division. Because there's never any outside authority empowered to look at things objectively. Everyone can claim their own version of reality. The downside of too much hierarchy is inflexibility and stagnation. But the downside of too much subjective freedom is lack of accountability and division. It's a tough balance, but it can be done and should always be tried.
It's exciting to see that the CHOG in Chelyabinsk is doing this of their own accord.
A few weeks ago our friends Alexei and Katya passed through Berlin and stayed with the Philips who were missionaries in Russia. Some of you will remember them from our previous trip to Russia 5 years ago, as well as their visit to Hong Kong about 2 years ago. It was very nice to see them again and now Kelley and I will be staying at their house during this Russia trip. We will also be joined by Jim Lyon of CBH Viewpoint and Madison Park Church in Anderson.
Time to bundle up. Not sure what the internet will be like, but I'll post when I can. Enjoy one of my typical, poorly lighted, blurry, low quality shots.
Remembering Susi
A few weeks ago, I posted about my former friends, adopted Grandparents, and former bosses Pastors Kerm and Susi Morrison. We have received word that Susi passed away on March 2nd and 7pm. She died without pain or fear with two of her children at her side.
Words cannot begin to describe what Kerm and Susi meant to us. Our years with them in New Haven, Connecticut were priceless. They entered into our lives at a pivotal moment for us and they offered us all the encouragement in the world. Our times with them were filled with much laughter and joy. It was wonderful watching them do their work. We learned a lot from these great mentors.
Anytime I could, I would always make my way back to New Haven to visit them. Trying to give back to them a little bit of what they gave to us.
I can't imagine life without Susi. And it's hard to picture Kerm without Susi--the two just go together. I always felt so free with Susi and could tell her anything. It felt great to go to their house and let down. The last time I did that was in January of last year, 2010. I was in New Haven for a week and we had lots of time to be together. I am so very thankful I made that trip now. I had no idea it would be the last time we'd be together. For now.
We worry about Kerm and I hope I get the chance to see him soon. Kerm's condition is worsening. In his alzheimers, he forgets many things. Most things. But not Susi. Who can forget Susi? We never will.
Different Cultures are Funny
I got back from Fritzlar Bible School Wednesday night. I was down there teaching earlier this week. They decided to put me on the regular rotation of outside faculty, so this was my first time as part of that rotation. I always enjoy my time there. Not only is the town beautiful, but the students are awesome. Always very inspiring. I took about 10 hours worth of material. Much of it involved an in-depth discussion/introduction to the three worlds of Christianity as it's being processed theologically. Lots of statistics, examples, and anecdotes from the Three Worlds. The students were very attentive and had great questions. They are exactly the kind of students that can engage all three worlds...and will probably have to in their lifetime.
For the final session, I talked about missionary life. I talked about the different kinds of characteristics one might need to have to be on the mission-field. And while one of the biggest is cultural sensitivity---the ability to understand foreign cultures and not impose your own cultural expectations on foreigners, there is also the fact that you will need a good sense of humor. You will have to laugh at yourself a lot. As you learn the language, or the customs, or try the food--you will have awkward and funny experiences. It helps if you don't take yourself seriously. If you can enjoy those moments when you mess up or say the wrong thing--as embarrassing as it may be.
On the flipside, foreign cultures are also funny to us. Sometimes foreign people do things that are strange or hard to understand. Sometimes they seem ridiculous. And it's okay to laugh at that too. Every culture has its nonsensical things. They are all flawed and silly.
We're not really made to be foreigners. We long for home.
So in the spirit of not taking ourselves so seriously, here's a hilarious video clip from the BBC's Catherine Tate Show which always makes me laugh at the ignorance of Helen as well as the ridiculousness of culture and language in general.
A-Sum from Hong Kong
For the past 10 days, we've had a special visitor in our house. Sum (Phoebe) Ho from Hong Kong came to visit us and trek around Europe. For those of you that visited us, you will probably remember A-Sum. She was frequently at our house and always did a lot to help our foreign guests. She is like our daughter. And we spent a lot of time together, even once vacationing in Thailand together.
A-Sum's pretty adventurous. She's traveled to all sorts of interesting places in Asia and Europe. I had always wanted to get her and Sze Man to visit Costa Rica. I knew they would love it. Prior to visiting us in Berlin, A-Sum trekked around Italy and Holland. But she said she made the trip to see us: Awww.
Marco has loved having A-Sum around for the past few days. His "jeh-jeh" (big sister) has been a lot of fun to play with, and has listened to his endless stories, which are....truly....uhm endless.
We went to Chinese food a few days ago in Berlin. That was kind of funny....ordering Cantonese food at a Cantonese restaurant with A-Sum. It was pretty good, but nothing compared to Hong Kong standards and so much more expensive. A-Sum managed to find the only Chinese restaurant in Berlin that makes Marco's favorite Cantonese dish---Cha Siu Bau. She spent a lot of time on the internet trying to find a place for her little brother to eat.
Above is a picture of Phoebe taken at that Chinese restaurant.
Announcement: New 3W Team Members
Ken and Keli graduated from Anderson University in 1995 and bring a wealth of pastoral experience to our team. They have served at Scott Memorial Church in Tennessee as well as Riverchase Community Church in Alabama. Most recently they have been serving at the Sixth Avenue Church in Decatur, Alabama. At Sixth Avenue they developed a global reach that included Guyana, the United Kingdom, Colombia, and other countries. Ken and Keli are already thought of very highly by key leaders in Europe. They also have a proven track record of successful tenures as well as a track record in mentoring young people and inspiring them in ministry. Furthermore, they will be able to engage all three worlds that we operate in here in Europe and the Middle East: the Traditional, Post-Christendom, and Non-Western.
Ken and Keli have three children, Grace, Titus, and Zeke. As they re-locate to the Middle East, our whole Three Worlds Team will be mobilized to help them into this huge transition. The Oldhams must now begin the challenging journey of raising all of their financial support. If you or your church are interested in supporting them, contact Candy Power at Global Missions of the Church of God:
More Photos of Paris
Photo: A fraction of the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Photo: A view from Sacre Coeur
Photo: Marco and the Simpsons---Homer and Marge.
Photo: Marco at the base of the Eiffel Tower.
Merci, Paris Church of God
What a great time we had with our brothers and sisters at the Paris church. A special "Thank You" to Samir who helped to organize all of this--our first ever Three Worlds Seminar. It was great working with him and I hope this is just the beginning.
And thank you to Pastor Fegali and his wife Frida for being such wonderful hosts. Although many of them speak excellent English, Frida did the interpretation. She speaks French, Arabic, Italian, German, and English. She did a fantastic job with the difficult subjects (difficult vocabulary) we were covering in this 3W seminar.
And everyone was just so friendly and wonderful. We were taken out to dinner a few different times and we all agreed the food was absolutely delicious. And that Italian restaurant (pictured above) had the best tomato sauce. I love good tomato sauce.
A special "Thank You" to Dave and Kathy Simpson who were co-presenters in this Seminar and did a wonderful job talking about Church of God history and theology. Dave preached the sermon on Sunday focusing on how to stay encouraged in difficult mission-fields like France and Bulgaria. This is one of the reasons we wanted the Simpsons for this--because they are in one of the toughest environments for Evangelical Christianity in the world---perhaps the most difficult, period. But they do their ministry with such grace. I know the people in France fell in love with them.
But best of all were the friendships formed. We look forward to partnering together in the future. Our hope is that this first Three Worlds Seminar was informative, inspiring, helpful, and catalytic.
Viva Paris!
Just a quick note from Paris. We have had a wonderful time with our 3W teammates the Simpsons as well as with the Church of God in Paris. Our time is coming to a close tomorrow with the Sunday Service in which David Simpson will be preaching. We have all been very touched by the reception we have received here from our friends in Paris. What a lovely group of people.
This has got to be one of the most difficult mission-fields in the world. As one of the brothers in the church shared with me, the French are very proud of their highly cultured society. This is a place where they have long discussions on philosophy on TV as opposed to Jerry Springer. And the spiritual means very, very little. The realm of tribal, primitive people. And as many prejudices as foreigners have of France, it is a very impressive society on many, many levels. Culture, architecture, and geography. It feels like Japan from a Christian perspective--a very difficult place to get traction. So we hope the 3W Seminar is at least providing encouragement, if not a little more.
It's also been nice seeing the Simpson's utilized here in Paris and not just in Bulgaria as that is part of our strategy at Three Worlds. They are both lovers of history so they have greatly enjoyed this phenomenal city that oozes history on every corner. Jamie's been here a couple of times before, but I'm sure it's safe to say she loves it even more now after having made friends here.
And then there's Marco....who has always shown an interest in history and travel. He greatly enjoyed the Eiffel Tower and went up the Arc de Triumph with Uncle David. But the best for him was our visit to the Museum of the Army at Invalides which also houses Napoleon's burial place. The museum is enormous, grandiose, fantastic, spectacular. Where else can an 8 year old boy see hundreds of Knight suits lined up as if ready to be picked up for battle. On so many levels, this city is astonishing. I was glad that Marco had such a good time---although I am sure that much of his fondest memories will be with Dave and Kathy.
Tomorrow we'll head back to Berlin. We have visitors in our home all week, and then back on the road the next week.
The Middle East's Future?
We have received a few different emails from long-time, long-suffering readers of Three Worlds Diary wondering what our take is on the situation in Egypt.
We are not going to be responding to that situation directly because we have friends in Egypt holding many differing opinions. One of the dangers of revolutions is that they can drive a wedge between neighbors, long-time friends, even churches. As a new reality is introduced overnight, people's political views suddenly become front and center. Conversations that wouldn't ordinarily happen, suddenly do. And the level of mistrust can grow dramatically. So we don't plan to jump into the fray, but would rather focus on the Lord's work.
Middle East Coverage in General
On a more general level, I do have this to say about the media coverage everywhere----CNN, FOX, Al-Jazeera, BBC and on and on on as it has to do with the Middle East.
The words "Democracy" and "Islamic Fundamentalism" get thrown about in the most general, dualistic ways on the news and in discussion. As if the choice in every Middle Easter country is between U.S.A.-style democracy and Al-Qaeda/Iranian Islamic Fascism with nothing in between. Over the past 20 years, what many countries in the Middle East and the Islamic World (from West Africa to Eastern Indonesia) AND elsewhere long for is higher economic living standards, human rights, the rights to political dissent, freedom of the press and other basics of what we call Liberal Democracy.
Democracy can advance and it can retreat. Just since I left high school, it's hard to believe the many places democracy has advanced. Eastern Europe is the most obvious place. But what about Latin America? Many predicted that Latin America would not be able to have real democracies. Today, not only is Latin America highly democratic, but it has had its fare share of women Presidents. Who would have thought that this area known for perpetual warfare and military/authoritarian rule would have had growing economies and women at the helm.
Democracy: Many Models to Choose From
In Faith in the Future (2008), I argued that Globalization and Al-Jazeera are windows into a world that many Islamic nations did not have previously. Like them or hate them, they are offering a new view to places that for so many years only saw one thing. Their view of the world was totally cut off by people like Saddam Hussein, or Ayatollah Khomenei or Colonel Gadaffi. More and more people see what it's like to live in societies were women have rights, where living standards are raising rapidly, and where there is freedom of expression.
What is currently happening is that due to globalization, countries that want to connect economically (get rich) can only do so by being inter-connected to the rest of the world. If you want a totalitarian state (total control of the people), you have to follow the North Korea, Iran, Burma option of just cutting off your people and country from money, technology, and everything else global. The inability of most countries to completely disconnect from the rest of the global world, means that people are seeing that liberal democracy (or some form of it) is an option.
Democracy Growing
One-hundred years ago, there was not a single democracy by our current standards. Today there are 119 countries (or 62% of the world) that allow adult citizens to vote. Amongst those democracies are many types of democracy: Presidential democracies, parliamentary democracies, parliamentary republics, constitutional monarchies--and other types.
As Egypt or other Middle East countries chart their future, there are many kinds of democratic systems they can choose from if they want.
Sweden is a democracy and its socialist.
The U.K. is a democracy and has a queen.
Costa Rica has long had democracy--and it has a mostly gridlocked government.
In 2004, the most populous Muslim country in the world (Indonesia) continued its path toward Democracy by allowing everyone to vote for the President ( But oddly you never here "Egypt will be the next Indonesia!").
There is great skepticism about democracy in the Middle East and in Egypt. Egypt, it should be noted is not an Arab state. Egyptians are not Arabs, but Egyptians. Neither Egypt nor many Arab states have had experience with Democracy. It will not be an easy task, but we can be assured that even if democracy took root in these countries it would not look like what we in the West expect.
Messy Democracy
There's a lot of piling on about poor governance in the Middle East, but we don't have a problem with the messy democracies of our friends--such as Japan or South Korea---where a few large companies (and usually one party) dominate the country for decades. Mexico is a very messy democracy, at times being a one-party state, at other times verging on being a narco-state.
Even in the United States, we've come to find that our politicians on all sides of the aisles are a lot more corrupt than we thought and a company like Goldman Sachs wielded an enormous amount of influence on what people think they are most in control of--their own money.
Democracies can be dangerous. Hitler's Germany was a democracy and so is Iran today. But Iran's Islamic regime has also become a poster child for bad government around the world. Islamic theocratic rule can be the quickest path to delegitimizing Islamic governance.
Islamic Fundamentalism and "Muslim Countries":
The post-9/11 world brought the power of religion to affect global politics into the forefront. This was a mixed blessings. On one hand, religion was often marginalized, particularly by academics, as something not worth paying much attention to. Now, it seems like it's all they pay attention to.
The downside, however, is that nuance has gone out the door and there's a theocratic Iran behind every Islamic country.
For starters, when we talk about "Muslim countries" this is like calling Europe, Canada, and the USA "Christian Countries" and Japan, China, Vietnam, and the Koreas "Confucian Countries." Does anyone think that North Korea and South Korea have the same inclinations despite their Confucian heritage? No. One is a confucian-based, democracy with a booming economy. The other is a confucian-based society with a totalitarian ruler who is a fruitcake. Countries can have civilizational or religious underpinnings without being totally dominated by those underpinnings.
We make the same mistake with the label "Muslim countries." Some Muslim countries have roots in Islam because no other religion has had any greater impact on the society. The USA is not a Buddhist country. It's obviously been primarily affected by Jude0-Christian ideas. The same holds true for Finland and Norway, but those countries have no desire to talk about Christianity in politics the way Americans do.
An Islamic Country?
How Islamic is Islamic in an "Islamic country?" In some countries, like Saddam Hussein's Iraq, a secular/non-religious party controlled the country. In some "Islamic countries" the people are very secular or tired of religion. In others, they may primarily practice African folk religion. In others, they may be experimenting with allowing other religions to exist peacfully (Malaysia). Or in the case of the world's second most populous "Islamic nation" India...the hundreds of millions are under a party that is Hindu.
Are the Muslims in the "Islamic country" Sunni, Shia, Sufi or some other variation of Islam? Do they have a secular constitution like Turkey? Are they a theocratic country like Iran that actually has a population that is sick and tired of Islam? Were they governed so long by an atheistic government (like the Soviet Union) that they really no longer understand Islam?
A One World Islamic Rule or Secularization
The biggest fear is that someone like Osama Bin Laden will convince all the world's Muslims to drop everything and make every country in the world Islamic. Two reasons why this will never happen:
1) money
and
2) porn (I'm using hyperbole here folks...laugh).
It's funny, but I am making a serious point. Anyone who argues against materialism and sex has a tough road ahead making converts. If the whole world turned into Iran that would be a lot of people not making money and not getting to look at porn---and humans tend to rebel against things like that. The broader point is that religious discipline is difficult for all human beings. It's difficult for Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus. And this current round of globalization has a secularizing force that is able to compete with the religious impulse brought about by rapid change.
If trends continue, Muslim birth rates are going to drop dramatically. They already are in many places. The newest Pew survey results show that worst case scenarios for Europe's future puts the Muslim population at between 5% and 10% in the countries with the most immigrants. In the United States, the Muslim population will only reach 2% in the next few decades. Demographic straight-line projections have a bad track record. The USA was supposed to be overrun by Chinese people---in 1880. Protestants were supposed to completely supplanted by Roman Catholics. Didn't happen. The dirty Italians and Irish were going to over-populate the USA in the 1920's. Sadly, it was often the Protestant church that led the charge of catastrophic, demographic projections.
Even if Islamic populations were to grow, Osama Bin Laden's brand of Fundamentalism will be hard pressed to be attractive to multiple-generations. And if Islamic parties continue to enter politics, it tends to lead to less religious adherence not more. Why because religious political parties make mistakes that disillusion the believers (See Iran).
Osama Bin Laden's dream is most people's nightmare. Convincing them to give up not just money and porn, but interaction with the rest of the world, the ballot box, growing economies, Desperate Housewives, inter-faith marriages, women in the workforce, women driving to the grocery store, friendships with people of other faiths, and millions of other things that don't fit into their cave-man worldview will not be easy.
We somehow think the Gospel of Jesus Christ is incredibly attractive, yet we admit that belief in Christianity is in steep decline in Europe, Canada, and the USA. So this Christian faith is amazing, but it is declining due to secularization. Christians can admit that all the time.
At the same time we are somehow willing to believe that wearing a burqa and having your children blown up will be incredibly appealing to hundreds of millions of people in the future. Really? That might not wear thin after a while?
MORE THAN TWO OPTIONS IN THE FUTURE
Trans-national terrorism will continue. There are always terrorists and they always lose whatever cause they are fighting for. Recently we saw the terrorist Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka completely wiped out after more than 25 years of trying a tactic which didn't work--terrorism. It will probably be a small minority, but terrorists will continue to commit atrocious acts and they will have a few big victories and millions of failures.
The point of all of this is that Egypt, Tunisia, and any other country that chooses to break from its past in the 21st Century has a myriad of options to pursue. They may chose wrong or they may choose right. In the end, it's hard to avoid bad government as most of the world is finding out right now. From Ireland to the USA, to Iceland to Bolivia---governments are making big mistakes--and now the people are paying. The U.K. has made some terrible choices that it will now have to begin paying for. Good governments may be a long way off for many regions of the world.
If you're looking for a really well-run government try Singapore. But there's not much USA -style freedom there. That in itself is one of the possible models for the future (the authoritarian, market-state).
At the same time, countries that we've thought of as being "basket-cases" have made huge strides in the past decade. The Economist Intelligence Unit included Egypt among these following former basket-cases as economies to watch in the future due to their extremely fast economic growth mirroring Brazil, China, India, and Russia. These countries are:
Columbia (a former nacro-state), Indonesia (A predominantly Muslim nation formerly ruled by a dictators for decades), Vietnam (still run by the Communist Party), Turkey (a secular state with Muslim leadership and the 11th largest economy in the world), and South Africa (until 1994, a racist state dominated by whites). All of them have been growing their economies at a sizzling rate, throwing off years of mismanagement in the process. None are perfect, but they have surprised us all.
Egypt, Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, and South Africa. Who would have thunk? All of them doing well, all of them still with severe problems to overcome. Welcome to the real world.
The point of all of this is that in the 21st Century, there are too many variables to make easy future projections about the governmental system that 1.57 billion Muslims are going to choose in the future. There will be good governments, there will be bad governments---but overall, there will be a lot more choice. And there will be a greater ability to compare their system with other systems.
And that, my friends, is very bad news for Osama Bin Laden.