Photos from 3W London

3W London in the books

Back in Berlin after putting on our 2nd 3W Seminar in London.  What a great experience that was!  You know it's gone well when people are quoting the speakers verbatim!  Amy and Darren Adwalpalker (from L.A.) did a fantastic job of speaking about multi-cultural ministry.  This was their final part of their Three Worlds Experience as "3W Emerging Leaders."  They spoke in a traditional church in Northern Germany, they taught at the Bible School, they met with the post-Christendom world XZ Berlin/3W Team, and they spoke to the Afr0-Carribean church in London which has elements of the non-Western.  All in all, it was quite a whirlwind for them for these past two weeks.

The Adwalpalkers have been straddling all Three Worlds in their church in L.A.  But even for them, I think they were amazed at the diversity of contexts that we have to deal with here in Europe.  It's a complicated mission-field, but very exciting.

I took Darren, Amy and their two children Hannah and Josiah to London on Thursday night.  We arrived just in time to get their kids to bed.  The next day was a free day (we always do that so that we don't pull it too close with the Saturday morning conference in case of flight delays or cancellations), and the Adwalpalkers took a bus tour of London.  They absolutely LOVED London.  It's not like they had a choice.  London's my favorite place on Earth and I will kill anyone who says they don't like it.  So, all's well that ends well as Shakespeare would have said.

I spent Friday trolling around the West End bookstores looking for hard to find books and cheap used books.  I'm never happier than when I am in the West End.  That evening I went to the church to watch the youth prepare for an upcoming festival that the church is putting on.  Some kids were dancing, some were practicing drama, some were reading poetry.  One of the poems by a girl who was only about 10 was super deep.  Lovely kids.

Saturday we kicked off at 10:30AM with the Adwalpalkers talking about the unique setting that they work in and how they have had to learn to navigate cross-cultural ministry.  One of the most important things they taught all of us is the importance of a "bridge person".  Someone who can win the trust of the nearby ethnic group and can connect them to the church's dominant ethnic group.  "A bridge is someone who gets walked on" they said.  Any missionary would be able to relate to that.  Trying to connect two worlds (much less Three) means putting yourselves at the mercy of both cultural groups in many ways.

We both did the second session which broke down "Three Worlds" and what it means for the church.  Everyone found that quite fascinating and it became obvious how London is very much emblematic of the Three Worlds.  "I feel like I live in all 3 worlds" said one attendee.

In the third session I sang a medley of Frank Sinatra songs for 90 minutes.  meh.

Saturday night, I got to spend time with Zach and Audrey from Liverpool who were down with Pastor John to be a part of the 3W Seminar.  I took them to my favorite area--Covent Garden--and we had a great time of talking and sharing.  It's been four months since I was in Liverpool eating fish and chips with them.  Wow!  Time flies when you are a Regional Coordinator.  It was great to have this chance to re-connect with them again.

On Sunday, it was Mother's Day in Britain, so Amy Adwalpalker took the sermon and did a great job talking to the women in the church about valuing the contributions they make as mothers and grandmothers.  I was sitting around a lot of women and I was hearing a lot of "amens."

It turns out that Darren, whose father is originally from India, has family in London.  So that Sunday afternoon, the Adwalpalkers connected with some long, lost family in London.  Meanwhile, I headed down to Speaker's Corner where people get on their soapboxes (or ladders) and yell at each other (debate, and yell).  It was great.

The next day we flew back to Berlin and just yesterday we put the Adwalpalkers on the plane back to the U.S.A.

I think this was a big win all around.  It was encouraging for us, the 3W Seminar went very well, the church in Germany got a lot out of it, and I know the Adwalpalkers feel that this has been the experience of a lifetime for them.  I will be sharing some of their reflections here in a little bit.

Special thanks goes out to all the people who helped out:  Tottenham Church of God, Braunschweig CHOG, Fritzlar, and a very special thank you to Aaron and Nicole Varner who helped us in our hosting and traveling.  With two small children visiting as well, there was a lot to think about and Aaron and Nicole were fantastic in helping them travel as a family.

Next up for 3W Seminar:  the 3W Seminar in Bulgaria in conjunction with County Line Church in Auburn, Indiana.  Not only will County Line be joining us, but we will be bringing in Pastor Peter and another visitor from our church in Budapest, Hungary.  You'll be hearing a lot more about that.

Tomorrow we are off to Fritzlar to speak to the Central German churches this weekend and five days later, a big trip to Italy.

3W Seminar: London

It's time for our 2nd Three World Seminar; this time in London.  Tomorrow, the Adwalpalker family and I will be getting on a plane to make the short flight over to London where we will be putting on the 3W Seminar at the Tottenham Church of God.  The subjects of this seminar are pertaining to doing ministry in multi-cultural settings.  It's hard to think of a more multi-cultural place than London.

In the two opening sessions, the Adwalpalkers will be leading this church through the process of thinking about how to better reach their multi-cultural neighborhood.

I will do the final third session.  I will be singing a medley of Frank Sinatra songs. Okay, not really.  But perhaps.

Then lastly, on Sunday, Amy will be preaching the sermon which will have a multi-cultural theme.

We're also excited that some of the leaders from the Liverpool (Birkenhead) Church of God will be coming down from Beatles-land to join in the 3W Seminar.

Oh, and on Friday, I will be speaking to the youth.  I am looking forward to that.  So it will be action packed, but I think it will be a lot of fun and we'll all learn a lot.

As for the Adwalpalkers, they have been down with 3W teammates Aaron and Nicole speaking at the Fritzlar Bible College.  I've already heard from reliable sources that they did a great job.

Prayer for Ivory Coast

Our agency is requesting prayer for our missionaries and our Church of God churches in Ivory Coast.  We have two families there and many churches.  The country seems to be spiraling out of control and heading toward another Civil War.

Terrifying

Unbelievable.  The most terrifying footage of Japan so far.  "Helplessness" is the only word that comes to mind as I watch this.  Prayers for Japan

The Power Encounter: Non-Western Christianity

In the Non-Western world, belief in the spiritual world runs high.  The question is not "is there a God?", but rather "which God" and "what can he do?"  That the world has a spiritual dimension is obvious to the average non-Westerner.  They feel that this spiritual world is tangible---you can sense it even if you can't always feel it or touch it. In the West, however, religion is a choice, and the spiritual world is real for some people and not for others.  But even when it is real to Westerners, it is an aspect of their life--something they go out of their way to think of; the Spiritual realm.  It is not viewed as something everywhere at all times...not really.  Westerners are all materialists at heart and their spiritual lives are compartmentalized in comparison to most non-Westerners.

Westerners would say that non-Westeners are superstitious; prone to believing in magical thinking.  Non-Westerners would view Westerners as oddly ignorant of the forces at play in the world.

Christianity is exploding in the non-Western World and it often grows amidst those who were previously steeped in a different faith.  In Africa, Asia, Latin America, Christianity introduces itself and asserts itself.  In these places, there is a belief in good and evil and Christianity's clear definitions of those two terms can reasonate deeply with non-Westerners.

The powers face off--good and evil.  In the non-Western World it is an unambiguous, cosmic battle.

In the following video clip, you meet an African man who became a Christian pastor after years of murdering people, cannibalizing them, and serving as a voodoo priest and military leader in the country of Liberia.  He claims to have killed 20,000 people with his band of armed men.  They sacrificed children and practiced black magic.  He is a famous man in Liberia known as "General Butt Naked."  That's not a joke.  That was his nom de guerre and he is still greatly feared.

Now a pastor, he spends his time doing Christian evangelism and apologizing to the families of his victims--of which there are many.  At least 2 documentaries have been made of him.  The documentarians cannot figure out what to make of him.  Is it possible that a man so evil could become a man so good?  He's charismatic, seems very sincere, and even turned himself into Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Committee.

This is only a section of the story.  Watch the whole thing if you can (and want to), or see the documentary in cinemas which is winning awards.

Can good triumph over evil like that in someone's soul?  Is he a charlatan?  How deep could God's grace be?  Could Westerners understand that?  Can anyone?

Emerging Leaders: Introducing the Adwalpalkers

As you all know, at Three Worlds we are interested in 1) engaging young people in cross-cultural ministry 2) Supporting emerging, empowered, and accountable young leaders and 3) creating CHOG inner-connectivity.  All that we do is run through that prism, and thus far, we are off to a successful first few months with the launch of our Three World Seminars, our internships, as well as some new connections that are developing throughout our region from France, Bulgaria, and Hungary.  As part of our strategy, we will be introducing all of you to a number of emerging, young leaders. It is vital that we utilize the young talent that we have in the church.  One of the big lessons from Mosaic was that there are multiple generations of leaders missing from most churches, and often we don't recognize the talent that is right in front of us.

We are thrilled to have with us Darren and Amy Adwalpalker from South Bay Church of God in Los Angeles.  I met the Adwalpalkers while traveling for the Mosaic project and was deeply impressed with their ministry and talents. Between Three Worlds, Spread the Word, and the good people at South Bay Church of God, we will be hosting the Adwalpalkers for 2 weeks here in Europe.  During there time with us they will:

1) Learn about the church in the post-Christendom setting of Berlin.

2) Darren will preach at Braunschweig Church of God here in Germany.

3) They will teach at the Fritzlar Bible School on issues related to multi-cultural ministry.

4) They will join me (Patrick) in London as our "outside experts" for our 2nd Three Worlds Seminar where they will be talking about how to reach out in multi-ethnic communities.

Now a little bit about Darren and Amy. The Adwalpalker planted two Spanish-speaking churches in South California.  Darren now serves as Senior Pastor at the South Bay Church of God, a traditional church that has become bilingual and multi-ethnic under his leadership.  When I was there they had a Guatemalan Associate Pastor, an African-American youth pastor, and a Chinese children's pastor.  Darren is American, but his father originates from India.  Darren speaks Spanish and English fluently.

Amy is from Orange County, CA and served as an ESL teacher for adult immigrants and now writes about those experiences.  Darren is an ordained minister and Amy is a licensed minister with the Church of God.  Both Darren and Amy desire to see multi-ethnic ministry and emotional health characterize God’s church.  Darren and Amy earned Bachelors Degrees from Wheaton College, (Sociology and Ancient Languages, respectively) and a Masters Degrees from Biola University (Intercultural Studies and Applied Linguistics, respectively).  Both are excellent speakers and teachers.

This March, Amy and Darren Adwalpalker celebrated 10 years of partnership in ministry and marriage. They have been blessed with two wonderful children, Josiah (5) and Hannah (2).

We are looking forward to spending time with them and gleaning from their wisdom.

Photos from Russia 2011

Landing in Moscow

Under construction but looking very beautiful.

Alexei doing the BBQ in 20 Fahrenheit weather.  It was delicious.

Jim Lyon taking Q & A with Andrei interpreting.

downtown Chelyabinsk

What on earth is this product?

Anja and I walking through downtown on our way to her house for lunch with her family and friends.

The view from Anja's place.

Just like Hong Kong, lots of people living in Apartment blocks.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm no saint (as you all know), but I do like sharing my name with one.  Here's a primer on the real Patrick.  My favorite thing about St. Patrick's day was pinches from my Irish mother and Shamrock milkshakes at McDonald's.

More than 10 Thousand Dead...So Far

NHK is Japan's big international news channel.  If you want to follow what is happening in Japan on NHK (English edition) here's the link for live coverage of all that is happening.