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

For the past few weeks, we have all been gripped by the images of changes in the Middle East.  Revolution in the air, bullets being fired, societies being overturned after decades.  Now imagine moving your young family into that part of the world.  This is exactly what Ken and Keli Oldham are preparing to do.  They are joining the Three Worlds team to be pastors in the Middle East as well as helping us with our overall Three Worlds strategy.

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:

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.