3W Internship: On the Road

It has been a busy three weeks for us since we got back to Germany.  On Sunday August 7th, our 3W Intern Gina moved in with us after having spent the first half of her internship under the care of The Philips.  She arrived exhausted from German Teen Camp and we arrived exhausted from our summer in the USA and Costa Rica.  After a couple of days, we headed down to visit the new Church of God in Arco, Italy.

We had a wonderful time encouraging this little church that has just started in the past year.  And the pastors, the Lovaglios continue to report that there are other communities wanting to have a pastor.  So the potential for growth is great, but we will need to mobilize for this is the future.  The Lovaglios are working hard, still commuting 2 hours every week to go back and forth to the church in Arco--and sleeping on the floor of the little church.  I think it was a great opportunity for Gina to see how challenging the European context is for churches, but also how there is great potential, but it always starts with small communities.  We had a wonderful time not only sharing with the people, but listening to the Lovaglios share about their dreams, struggles, and burdens.  They are doing an important work and Pastor Lovaglio is one of those guys who has a gift for finding open doors to begin new works.  He has that St. Paul quality.

We then went to Andalusia, Spain to meet some of the Bolivians from the Bolivian Church of God who have immigrated to Spain and are now living in Vera.  In 2009, I was in Bolivia and attended their annual Easter service.  Now we were meeting people from the same community (and other Bolivian immigrants) who are continuing to worship in a house church.  We met the Fernandez family who are Latin American missionaries in Europe.  They are from Bolivia and Honduras and have been ministering in Spain for quite a long time.  They are phenomenal leaders and Nicole, Aaron, Gina, and I were all enchanted by them.  Like the Lovaglios in Italy, they are working very hard to minister to a number of communities that need a pastor and need assistance in a variety of ways.

Part of the purpose of this trip (and internship) was to expose Gina fully to the Three Worlds of Christianity.  The Bolivians very much practice a faith that is non-Western.  It is experiential, it is communal, they are not necessarily educated in Western systematic theology, and their Christianity is infused with many indigenous Bolivian traditions.  This is quite different from the context Gina witnessed here in post-modern Berlin, or in the more traditional settings in Germany or Italy or Almeria, Spain.

For missionaries like the Fernandez in Almeria, they are having to engage all Three Worlds in order to do ministry in Europe.  There are large, communities of elderly, retired German Evangelicals (and snowbirds) living on the coast of Andalusia are very traditional.  But the university students that attend the church in Almeria are more post-modern, and of course the Bolivians are non-Western.

Our 3W Internship is designed to not only expose our interns to these Three Worlds, but to give them an opportunity to engage the Three Worlds, because they call for very different responses and methods of interaction.  Our 2011 3W Intern, Gina, did a fantastic job navigating the Three Worlds.  In every setting we put her in:  working in ministry on the streets of post-Christendom Berlin, working with youth and the traditional church, or visiting with the non-Western Bolivians; in every setting, she did a fantastic job of not only appreciating the Three Worlds, but integrating into them.

We are so thankful to Gina for doing such a great job, being so flexible, and giving everything and everyone a chance.  She gets an A+ from us, as she heads back to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.

I'll comment more later on the trip and add some more photos.  Gina got to see some gorgeous things here in Europe.  This continent is the most beautiful in the world---period.


Reality TV or a Real Life?

A surprising quote from Albert Camus: Albert Camus wondered long ago, what it would be like to film someone's life from beginning to end--like the Truman Show--or like what we see on a smaller scale in reality TV.  It's a deep thought.

"The result would be a film, the screening of which would last a lifetime and that could be seen only by viewers resigned to losing their life in the exclusive interest of the details of someone else’s. Even then, this unimaginable film wouldn’t be realistic—for the simple reason that the reality of a man’s life isn’t found only where he is. It’s also found in the other lives that shape his—first of all, the lives of those he loves, who would, in turn, have to be filmed; but also the lives of unknown others—powerful or downtrodden—fellow citizens, policemen, professors, invisible companions in mines and factories, diplomats and dictators, religious reformers, artists who create myths that govern our behavior—all told, humble representatives of the sovereign accidents that reign over even the most orderly existence. Thus there’s only one realistic film possible, the one that is endlessly projected for us by an invisible apparatus on the screen of the world. The only realistic artist would be God, if he exists."

Brief note from Spain

Hi folks.  Sorry for the lack of diary entries lately.  You may be wondering how our intern Gina is doing, how's Italy, and how's is Spain.  Well, all is wonderful, but the days have been very long and internet has been real spotty from place to place.  And then there's just the exhaustion factor. At the moment I am on the Southeast Coast of Spain in a gorgeous town called Aguadulce (Sweet Water), close to Almeria in Andalusia, Spain.  I know Gina had a wonderful time in Italy and I will write about it later and post pictures.  And then there's the wonderful people we are visiting Spain.  More about that later with lots of photos.  There's Italy, Austria, Barcelona, and Andalusia all coming up.  And it's been a great trip for learning and experiencing the Three Worlds of Christianity we write so much about.  It's been very encouraging.   Three Worlds is fitting a need and the time is right.

Thanks for hanging in there.  And thanks for supporting us.

9 Reasons Why There is Hope for Arab Democracy

Events in the Middle East continue to unfold in ways that will have a tremendous impact on all of our futures.  Most Westerners are still very skeptical that democracy can ever flourish in the Middle East or in Islamic countries.  But this is ignorant.  Democracy already exists in the largest Islamic Nation--Indonesia.  It exists in Malaysia also.  Morocco and Tunisia are moving quickly in that direction and Lebanon, which is a pluralistic society, has democracy. "Ah.." you say, "But those Democracies are all dysfunctional, run by cronies, big business, or not really Western."

Yes, you are right.  But Western Democracies are not exactly doing so well either.  Hardly any of the democracies in Eastern Europe are as politically open and free of corruption as we would like.  Western Europe has an international structure called the "E.U." which is many ways limits democracy.  And in 2000, the United States was not sure which president it had elected, and in 2008, it's financial system was revealed to be beyond corrupt.  Democracy is always messy and the future of 21st Century democracy (as I have argued before) is not necessarily going to belong to "Western-style Democracy."  Whatever that is.

For the countries of the Middle East, North Africa, and Islamic Asia, democracy may never arrive or it may arrive very slowly.  It's very possible that democracy will come to the Middle East, slowly--over 3 generations, bit by bit.  In a way, this is what is happening to China.  Until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, China was a monarchy.  It went into a period of Civil War (which began the process of new ideas for governance taking hold), the Communists took over (which brought many problems, but also liberated women), and then entered into it's hyper-capitalist phase (which is creating a Middle-Class that is demanding more democracy and transparency from the government).  It didn't happen with the first revolution in 1912, but bit by bit, many of the ideals of Democracy are spreading into China.  This is how it may be for countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, U.A.E., and all the rest.  We may be at that Qing Dynasty Collapse moment.

Instead of being negative about Arab Democracy (and Democracy in Islamic countries), let's look at 9 things that we can already celebrate about the changes in the Middle East in 2011.

1. Not everything is Israel's Fault.

Up until a year or so ago, the blame for the regions ills, it's lack of employment opportunities, its disconnection from the world, it's lack of innovation was based on the Israel-Palestine issue.  Not anymore.  Now, from Tunisia, to Libya, to Egypt, the people are taking a deep look into their own cultures and their own government's problems.  This is a huge change and it should be celebrated.  It's not that the Israel-Palestine issue still doesn't cause problems, but it is no longer defining the entire discussion.  This should be celebrated.

2. Facebook is more fun than Being a Suicide Bomber

It's looking like the large number of Arab youths (part of the so-called "youth bulge") has been spending a lot of time on Facebook and on the internet in general, instead of joining terrorist camps.  Yes, playing Angry Birds on your i-phone can be more fun when you are young, then blowing yourself up.  As Arab and Muslim youth listen and now make rap music, connect globally, and play angry birds instead of being angry terrorists, we see that the pull of a free world is much stronger than one that is dictated to you by someone like Osama bin Laden or the Angry Mullah's of Iran.  Most kids don't like taking orders from old bearded men in their 60's and 70's.  We are being reminded that this is a cross-cultural truth; youth long for freedom and resemble James Dean more than they do Ayman Al-Zawahiri. This should be celebrated.

3. The Old Regime Does Not Always Win

Many of these countries have been under the impression (and rightly so), that the old systems of government cannot be replaced.  The entrenched powers---the Royal Family or the Autocrat like Saddam or Mubarak--can never be dislodged.  This is now obviously untrue, and for once, the government is afraid of the people instead of the other way around. This should be celebrated.

4. Islamic Nations cannot just pass leadership from Father to Son.

There has also been the belief, in this part of the world, that authoritarian rulers can just pass from Father to Son, as Saddam Hussein wanted to do, and Hosni Mubarak, and many others.  But in the age of twitter and facebook, these kind of undemocratic successions don't work as well.  Who wants to be the son of one of these guys now?  Being Uday Hussein is just not that great, you know?  This should be celebrated.

5. Women Matter.

At the heart of many of these revolutions have been women.  Nada, the martyr in Iran, the articulate Egyptian women being interviewed by global media in Tahrir Square, and women demanding more rights in the Gulf States.  The President of Islamic Indonesia is a woman.  The empowerment of women is a revolution in itself and one that will pay great dividends in the future. This should be celebrated.

6. The Celebrated Martyrs are No Longer Terrorists.

Mohamed Bouazizi, Hamza al-Khatib, Neda.  Are these names familiar to you?  Probably not, but they are becoming household names in the Middle East.  They are celebrated martyrs, but not because they blow people up for Islam.  But because they were killed by their governments for simply protesting or committed suicide to make a point about internal problems.  These are not killers of infidels in the name of Islam, they are people asking for internal political reform.  This is a new thing. This should be celebrated.

7. Birth Rates are Slowing Down Fast

One of the biggest problems in the Middle East (that has lead to the rise of Fundamentalism but also to the chronic unemployment problems which are causing counter-reactions) is the population explosion in Arab countries.  While this region of the world still has a large amount of angry, disillusioned, unemployed youth; population rates are decreasing at a very fast rate.  From Europe to Pakistan, Islamic women are having less children, and the generation that is growing up on Facebook and Twitter will probably aim to have one or two kids at the most.  Lower birth rates for this region of the world will eventually lead to greater stability.  This should be celebrated.

8. The Dubai Factor

Despite issues of corruption, bad investments, oil money, and a myriad of other problems, the standards of living in the Middle East are getting better--at least in the capital cities.  It may be from oil (the Gulf States), Chinese investment (Syria) or the creation of business parks (Egypt), but there is a middle class growing.  And that Middle Class is becoming more visible and is finding ways to plug into the global economy.  I call this The Dubai Factor.  Dubai is not a democracy, or free of corruption, or free from dependence on oil revenues.  Not by a long-shot.  Neither is it a place constructed by Dubai people (third world laborers do the grunt work).  But Dubai, is trying to move away from being a one-trick pony.  It has become a hub for air traffic, it has invested in tourism infrastructure, and slowly but surely, it is becoming more than just rich sheiks with oil money.  But best of all, it is a gleaming example of modernity in the Middle East.  It is not the image of a chaotic Iran or a dirt poor Gaza, but it conveys to the whole Middle East, what a progressive, modern metropolis can look like in the heart of Arab country.  Dubai may be surpassed by Qatar or Abu Dhabi, or a Saudi city--but it has projected an image that is an important counter-image to what we have seen previously.

9. Al-Jazeera

I've long been a fan of Al-Jazeera.  Why?  Aside from providing the best, most global news (just try getting good pieces on Latin America from CNN, BBC, or FOX), Al Jazeera is showing images of the Islamic, modernizing, middle class and beaming them into every part of the Islamic world.  It is also exposing corruption, and it's reporting during the Egypt crisis was amazing.  Al-Jazeera is Al-Qaeda's worst nightmare.  (And as a sidenote:  They produce some absolutely fantastic documentaries).  This should be celebrated.

So the road to democracy may be long for places like Egypt, Iraq, or U.A.E.  And it may never look like our democracies, although ours probably won't look like our 20th century versions anymore either.  But it is possible that as with the Collapse of the Qing Dynasty, we are witnessing some seismic changes in the Islamic/Arab landscape that will lead toward a better future for all of us.  There's no reason for complete pessimism.

In the past few years, I've wandered around country after country that I never thought would be open to foreigners in my lifetime.  And now I live in a city (Berlin) where a wall once stood and we thought it would be there our whole lives.  But it's gone.

As Marco would say:  "That's epic!"

3W Intern-Gina Shaner

We are so happy to have Gina Shaner with our Germany 3W crew this summer.  Gina is finishing up her Master's Degree at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky and is doing her internship with us. Our goal with this internship is to not only expose Gina to hands-on ministry (which is what internships typically do), but to expose her to the Three Worlds of Christianity in different settings and countries.

In addition to all of that, she will also be learning about the behind-the-scenes organizational, management, and member care issues that we deal with as Regional Coordinators (the care for the missionaries spiritual and emotional health).

The combination of practical experience, broad exposure to a variety of fields, and exposure to the administrative/organizational side of missionary work is very unique.  We think the 3W Internship is a very comprehensive program which will return Gina to Asbury with a wealth of practical knowledge.

*Gina has already spend time doing ministry on the streets of Berlin in a challenging environment and neighborhood.

*She also helped the XZ Berlin team run the German teen camp.

*Now, she is moving into our home and joining us as we visit our new church in Arco, Italy.  She will join us as we make strategic decisions for the future.  This is a very post-Christendom setting.  Then she will join Aaron and Nicole and I in Spain as we meet with believers from the Bolivian Church of God who are migrant workers.  They come from a non-Western culture and perspective and are now integrating into a post-modern European society.

So her internship is taking her from the streets of Berlin, to the German Countryside, to the Italian Alps, and the South of Spain.  In each place, a very different context.

We're thrilled to have her with us for a few more weeks and we are proud of what she has already accomplished this summer.  You will be hearing and seeing more of Gina soon.

Thank You to My Friends in Columbus, Ohio!

We arrived back in Berlin, Germany on Friday. It's great to be back!  I'm looking forward to seeing members of our 3W team tomorrow.  There will be lots of hugs, laughs, and cuddles all around.  They just got back from running the German youth camp and it was great, I hear.  They raised nearly 600 Euros for Bulgarian youth to have their own camp! Three Worlds connects the region baby!

I spoke in Columbus this past Wednesday at Meadow Park Church of God.  Thank you so much to those of you that attended.  It was a very encouraging time for me personally and I am thrilled at the reception that 3W has received in Phoenix, California, and Ohio this summer.  It was a great trip back to the USA.  And I didn't gain weight!!!!  Applaud me!!! Love me!!!!

Costa Rica Gets its Three Worlds

Time for more of my lousy photos.  Since we were on vacation, I really felt unmotivated to even take photos so....I didn't bother really getting any scenic stuff.  The time down there was great.  It was great to re-connect with old friends, take naps occasionally and observe the country continue to change. Costa Rica has changed so much in many ways.  In others it is exactly the same.  It is still beautiful, the weather is the same (mostly), San Jose's downtown hardly changes at all compared to other globalized, plugged in countries.  The government remains peaceful and completely ineffective--in a permanent state of gridlock. We now have our first female President, however.  Most of the roads are terrible, but not as bad as when we had to cross more than 50 rivers to get to the beach.

Some of the big changes though have to do with new wealth, religion, and development.

Like so many countries that start to ride the globalization wave, living standards are higher than ever in Costa Rica.  The middle class truly looks like a global middle class now.  Some of my "cousins" who were running around in diapers back in 1990 and from poor or modest homes, now have great jobs, very nice cars, and all the techno gadgetry you can imagine.  Even in the 90's, when I would go back, I stood out for my clothes and First World appearance.  Today, there is no such obvious disparity.

There were a lot of young people with money.  Today, 99% of all chips made by Intel are made in Costa Rica.

At the same time, there is a pretty startling increase in obesity.  I wrote about this in the diary on one of my previous Costa Rica trips.  It used to be only Americans had obesity issues and they were made fun of for that, but now it is common down there and in much of the underdeveloped and developing world.

The suburbs have become a lot more posh.  Some of the new malls in Escazu are shockingly beautiful as are the homes.

But the biggest change is the rate at which Costa Rica is secularizing.  Catholics are becoming more nominal, the Evangelical church is peaking (or peaked) and there is a great increase in non-religious people.  The youth increasingly see religion as irrelevant.  Thus we see the birth of the Post-Modern in Costa Rica.  From two worlds: 1) Traditional and 2) Non-Western to three with Post-Christendom establishing a strong imprint on the nation.

This happens as the influx of wealth and living standards increases.  As I experienced on the Mosaic journey, even in the under-developed and developing nations, large pockets of post-moderns are emerging--particularly amongst the new, young, globally plugged in youth.  The church's response will have to be more out-0f-the-box than before.  Not relying on old approaches, and trying to attract youth into an institution.  It will require big change.

Keeping Tabs on Islam in Egypt?

Democracy can be dangerous (allowing radical parties, such as Islamic ones to take office), but the process of being political often tempers what is religiously possible because once you win, you have to...uhm...actually do something other than say "Islam is great."  Reza Alsan of the Washington Post looks at recent reports of the weakness of radical Islamic groups in Egypt.  The soil is not as fertile as is sometimes being made out.  Aslan's comments on this are worth quoting at length: It is true that Islamists comprised the largest and most vocal of the more than 25 different Egyptian organizations, most of them labor and youth groups, who organized last week’s mass show of unity against the country’s military rulers. But that is a reflection of their superior organizational skills and their ability to mobilize their members, and not of their political clout or their national support.

Polls show the Muslim Brotherhood doing poorly in parliamentary elections, with only 15 percent support. They are not even bothering to field a presidential candidate. There are more than 40 million voters in Egypt. Rallying tens of thousands of people to Tahrir Square is impressive, no doubt. But it is far from an indication of electoral prowess.

Yet what if this were an “Islamist rally,” as the press reported? What could be more crucial for a country trying to define its democratic future than allowing religious organizations who have spent the last 50 years huddled in mosques and hiding in back alleys to air their views to the voting public? Egypt desperately needs an open debate about the role of religion in society, the reconciliation of Islamic and democratic values. Six months ago, such talk would have landed these protesters in one of Mubarak’s sadistic prisons. Today they are part of the vibrant political debate that is taking place all over the country.

By competing openly with other political factions for votes, the Islamists are playing precisely the role one would hope for them in a free and democratic society. Because like it or not, Islam is going to be a force in post-Mubarak Egypt, where Muslims make up 96 percent of the population.  Just as Christianity, the faith of some 70 percent of the U.S. population, influences American norms, values and laws (think gay marriage, abortion, etc.), so will Islam influence the norms, values and laws of Egypt. As long as the rights and freedoms of minorities are preserved and protected, and the rule of law made sacrosanct, Egypt will likely move along the same secularizing trajectory as all democratic societies, including America, that have created space for religious conservatives to compete with secular liberals in the marketplace of ideas.

Indeed, that process is already underway in Egypt. Suddenly forced to provide practical solutions to the social and economic problems facing Egyptians, the Islamist organizations have fractured. Younger, more liberal members are increasingly challenging the older and more conservative leaders. As a young member of a Salafist party put it , “We actually have more trouble connecting [with] people inside the movement than we do connecting with liberals.”

This generation of young Islamists has no interest in simply shouting, “Islam is the answer,” and then retreating back into the mosque. They know that if they are going to take part in the political process – an opportunity they have never been given – they must come up with real solutions to peoples needs. Otherwise, they’ll be tossed out of office.

[Patrick's note: Or you can become Iran and nobody will care about Islam ever again after 30 years of lousy "Islamic" rule].

That’s how democracy works. And despite its many obstacles, despite the cacophony of voices vying to decide the country’s future, and the fact that six months ago it was an oppressive dictatorship, last Friday’s rally in Tahrir Square is proof that democracy is working out just fine in Egypt.

The Islamic Threat? Norway Reaction

Will Europe be taken over by Muslims?  Is Europe in danger of Islamic terrorism.  The attacks in Norway this week (which most assumed would be attributed to Al-Qaeda) turned out to be an attack by an ultra nationalist-Christianist. On this week's episode of GPS, Fareed Zakaria pointed out that in Europe over the past two years, only .3 (yes, that's .3), and 1% of terrorist attacks were done by Muslims.  The rest have been done by separatist groups and nationalists, having nothing to do with Islam. As I've written before, the trouble with Osama Bin Laden's vision for an Islamic theocratic government ruling Europe and the World is that it is difficult to get people to submit to anything--especially religion--and more so when it is done by force.  Christians teach in original sin and rebellion (separation) from God.  Therefore it should be no surpise that even in the Islamic world, attempts to force Islam down everyone's throats is not working.

Drug usage ( a way to escape confining societies) drugs, and atheism, are at all-time highs in the Middle East.  And birth rates by Muslims in the Middle East and Europe are declining now).  And then, as I've mentioned before.  There's porn which has become endemic throughout Islamic lands.  Even Osama had his little porn stash.

Western media makes it sound like it is so easy to indoctrinate people into becoming Islamic terrorists.  When in fact, people abhor having religion (any religion including Christianity) shoved down their throat.  Increasingly there is secularization and atheism throughout the Islamic world.

And Western Europe which has secularized Christianity can easily do the same to Islam and very well might.

And Muslim-born activist explains why she is now an atheist:

"I suppose people can go through an entire lifetime without questioning God and a religion that they were born into (out of no choice of their own), especially if it doesn't have much of a say in their lives. If you live in France or Britain, there may never be a need to renounce God actively or come out as an atheist. But when the state sends a "Hezbollah" (the generic term for Islamist) to your school to ensure that you don't mix with your friends who are boys, stops you from swimming, forces you to be veiled, deems males and females separate and unequal, prescribes different books for you and your girlfriends from those read by boys, denies certain fields of study to you because you are female, and starts killing in­discriminately, then you have no choice but to question, discredit and confront it - all of it. And that is what I did."

Once this Norway attack blows over, there will be more straight-line projections about the future of the Middle East and Islam.  But let's not forget that thus far, in this very volatile era where Fundamentalist Islam is very much hostile and under threat, the number of attacks was .3%

Something to think about on occasion.

Anti-globalization movements (of which Al-Qaeda is just an Islamic version) may be the bigger threat, particularly as the divide between rich and poor increases dramatically in the coming days (although--as pointed out a few weeks ago on this diary--the poor will be wealthier than the poor of any previous era).