The Quiet Missionary: A Tribute to My Father Harry Nachtigall

The name Nachtigall is German for "Nightingale."  The Nightingale is a common bird.  It is not endangered.  It does not have particularly beautiful feathers.  It is even officially known as "the Common Nightingale."  But the Nightingale sings--and it is often the male that sings more beautiful than the female.  But most miss it because the Nightingale sings a lot at night, and can be found in loud urban areas where its beautiful song is hidden by the noise of the city.

My father Harry Samuel Nachtigall was a nightingale.  He was a man who lived a quiet life.  His closest brush with fame was as part of the handsome Anderson Trumpet Trio in the late 1950's that praised God but broke some girls hearts as they toured America.  The music is remembered by those that saw them and there was even a triumphant reunion a few years ago. The trumpet was only one of the ways he sang his song.

Harry was born in Camrose, Alberta and named after Harry Gardner of Gardner Bible College.  His parents Sam and Irene were missionaries to Canada and pastors in Cleveland, Ohio, and Lincoln, California.  As a pastor's kid, Dad had no home until he later discovered the place where he would thrive and one day be buried:  Costa Rica.  He was deeply interested in the world and married a remarkable young woman who pushed him to be a servant to everyone he met.  Her name was Wanda Jene Nachtigall.  Together they traveled to Kenya and my Father became the first Western headmaster at the Emusire School to hire non-white and Western faculty, and handed off the school into African hands.  In 2009, I made a special trip to the secondary school and saw his name and picture on the wall--Harry surrounded by his faculty of multi-colored people.  The school is one of the few institutions in the area still thriving and the school was being lead by a wonderful, handsome young, Kenyan man. Quiet people would rather see others succeed than themselves.

Together with his wife Jene and daughter Marcel, they traveled to Central America.  There they picked up a dying orphan and fought to take him home despite his severe illness.  They shortened his long four-part Spanish name and gave him an Irish/German name with a Spanish middle name.  They taught him to love the world in all of its eccentricities and complexities.   They did not teach their kids to spiritualize everything and run from the secular world; they demanded that they engage it fully.

The family loved Costa Rica and Harry saw the church in Costa Rica flourish during his time as a missionary.  The large Christian Center he built brought in youth throughout San Jose and helped to change many lives in a neighborhood that is still a Nazareth in San Jose.  Harry was not one to shove Bibles down people's throats, recite Scriptures at every event, or wear his faith on his sleeve.  His was a quiet manner; a Nightingale song that could easily be drown out amidst the darkness of relative obscurity and the daylight noise of an urban jungle.   

In a world obsessed with celebrities and showy achievements--(even in the church!)--my father rejected those things.   He was happy to never have his name mentioned, his achievements forgotten.  The very idea of getting credit for the things he had done would have been ludicrous to him.  He viewed himself as a husband and a father.  Nothing more.  Nothing more was needed.  Quiet people are not ashamed of being simple. It's a simplicity that the world doesn't crave.

What is known best about my Father is the women he shared his life with.  His first wife Jene, who fused a wicked sense of humor with an unbelievable intellect and servant-heart.  She pushed him hard.  After Jene passed away in 1991, he discovered love with Julia Monge.  Together, they would become a well-known force for good in neighborhoods in Costa Rica.  Free of pay, (paying out of pocket) he traveled the country visiting lonely, isolated churches.  The day before he died, an 80 year old woman from the poor port city of Limon rode the bus all the way to San Jose just to spend 90 minutes with him.  He loved those forgotten places and abandoned churches that no one cared to visit.  He had a special relationship with the Afro-Carribean people of the Atlantic zone.

Julia and Harry were the center of gravity for the little town of Patarra and an inspiration to many throughout San jose and Costa Rica.  Everyone who knew them knew how much Julia spoiled my father.  She bathed him in love and affirmation daily.  He always responded "Gracias mi esposa preciosa."  They were never apart and he was always requesting one more "cafecito" or another piece of devilishly unhealthy cake.  Anyone who spent any time around them will remember their lovey-dovey banter which was 100% genuine.  He could talk about Julia for hours.  In many ways, she saved his life.

My father was not a preacher and he did not sit people down and berate them about their spiritual lives.  He did, however, try and hook up as many people as possible, and many happily married couples are together today because my Father insisted on playing the matchmaker.  

His years of missionary service behind him, he spent his life as a math, science, and computer teacher.  He was a nerd and he never claimed to be anything else.  He was the teacher that was easy to take advantage of--the one who sometimes made the test too easy, and was too nice to the jocks making jokes behind his back.  I asked him why he was so patient with bratty kids while working in suburban and inner-city schools in San Francisco and Portland, and later, in San Jose.  "You never know what these kids are going through at home," he would tell me.  His heart broke for the poor math students in his class who were being robbed of joy by having to grow up too quickly in homes of chaos. I never looked at trouble-makers the same way.   

He was the opposite of those neglectful parents.  He poured love on us and was very proud of his kids.  When we moved to the United States, I had to learn the American sports:  American Football, Baseball, Basketball and Tennis.  Despite having a brutal commute to his school in San Francisco and putting in the long days of a teacher, he would come home without fail and play ball with me.  "The Montgomery Wards parking lot was our field," he recalled as recently as a couple of months ago.  The parking lines were yardage markers.  And he was so proud when my spirals were better than his.  Quiet, humble people are not threatened when others succeed.

He taught me to ride a bike in Marin County, California and we spent endless hours at Granada Field playing sports.  Only after I was an adult with my own son, did I realize how exhausted he must have been each day playing up to 2 hours daily with me after hard days of work.  He was my best friend and I demanded long, hard, playtimes.  In each sport, I surpassed him pretty quickly and he loved it.  He was so happy, when in 5th grade, I accidentally broke his rib while we were playing tackle football in our living room.  During a baseball game once, I made a pretty spectacular catch--the kind a grown man re-lives in his mind time-and-time again.  The sense of joy I felt at making that remarkable catch was quickly dampened when my Dad stood up in the stands and yelled in front of everyone: "That's my boy!"  I was humiliated.  Of course today those words are priceless.   

I remember saying to my Father when I was my son's age:  "You will be my best friend forever!"  My father replied, "No. One day soon you will want to spend more time with your friends than me, and that will be okay."  I can still remember my shock.  "How could I ever not want to play with my Dad?" I wondered.  But his words came true.  In my teen years, I was out of the house more than I was in the house.  Quiet people can let go and not remain the center of attention.   I now know one day my son will find his old man not as exciting as the boys in his crew and the girls down the street--and that's okay.

His final years in retirement were spent with virtually no money.  But it didn't stop him from giving everything he had away all the time.  Sacrifices for his children, gifts he couldn't afford, donations that would put them on the edge.  "My father is poor," I would tell close friends.  "Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven," said Jesus.   Jesus called them blessed, because they were not tied to the need to be artificial.  Those with vision were actually blind.  Those that were blind, could actually see.  

My father had no enemies.  Not one.  A remarkable thing to say about any human being.  Neither was he ever a different person behind close doors than in front of them.  He was the quiet missionary.  Long before Pope Francis and the Emerging Church called for the church to start walking the talk, the Nightingale sang his song as loudly as he could in the midst of the world's indifferent noise. 

Harry loved Costa Rica more than anywhere in the world.  He was genuinely happy here amidst a tribe of people whom he loved and served and loved him back.  He was the much adored "Don Harry:"  The man with a heart of gold in the background, bragging about others all the time.  I never heard him say one boastful thing about himself in my entire life.  I did hear him proclaim other people's greatness constantly.  The people of Costa Rica gave him the recognition that he deserved but did not seek.  He was a citizen of the country and of their hearts.  There is an enormous hole in the hearts of the people here because of what the quiet missionary did in silence.

Harry leaves behind a wife, Julia Monge, a daughter Marcel Boggio, a son Patrick Nachtigall and three grand-children:  Daniella, Marcellina, and Marco.  He loved Jamie Nachtigall and Daniel Boggio as his own children and those two grieve mightily today--the way unrecognized but legitimate children do.  But with his quiet footprint he leaves much more behind for everyone: a song of humility and service that has penetrated many hearts.

Julia and I did not know that our unexpected 4 1/2 hours with him would be our final moments with him.  Recovering from a surgery earlier in the day, he spent about 2 and a half of those hours very lucid.  He was grateful for all the people around the world that were praying for him.  He was emphatic that his beloved trumpet must go to my son Marco.  He asked about his kids, he said "Great job with Three Worlds" and he said at one point, "I trust God."  We talked about something I heard Bono of U2 saying regarding his strong father's recent death in a cold, undignified hospital:  "Dignity is over-rated."  In a place with tubes, bedpans, and invasive procedures I shared how my time in a Hong Kong hospital brought me great lucidity. We are dependent on others.  The idea that we are not is an illusion.  How many people needed the song of Harry the Nightingale? And how many got it?  More than we will ever know. 

"Did you know that one of my students gets beaten by her father when the toilet paper is put on incorrectly in the bathroom.  The paper has to be facing out," he told me once  in high school about one of the students who was in his math class at Tigard High School.  How many more people needed the song of the Nightingale.   

Tonight, the Quiet Missionary is no more.  His song is sung to the heavens as he soars above us all.  What made the songbird so unique?  The answer is this:  his selfless, intentional, ordinariness.  When the Quiet Missionary stripped himself of everything, all that was left was his song of love. 

What is our song? 

What is my song? 

What is your song? 

Thank you Dad for giving me my life.  I'll love you FOREVER.

"O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth."

Psalm 96: 1

Three Worlds Diary Taking Time Off

This diary/blog has been operating for 11 years with entries on average, once every 3 days for over a decade.  About two years ago, I decided that each year I would take a break from the diary for a short time.  In light of my father's death, I think this would be a good time to take this year's break.  I will post a tribute to my father here at the diary shortly.  I will resume posting sometime before the 1st of November.  Please stick with the diary and Three Worlds.

3W Roundtable III: Arco, Italy

Each year, the 3W Roundtable gathers somewhere in Europe and the Middle East to hear my reports about the work Three Worlds is doing, to challenge me, and to provide an extra layer of accountability.  The meetings are intense, fun, and highly educational.  Every year great ideas are generated by the wise group of people on our 3W Roundtable.  All of it makes Three Worlds better.

The participants are:  Rod Stafford and Alan MacDonald (Fairfax Community Church--Washington D.C.), Nathan Tatman (County Line Church of God--Auburn, Indiana), Bob Moss--Salem Church of God--Clayton, Ohio), and George Lutzer (GracePoint Community Church--Edmonton, Canada).  This year we have also had Greg Wiens with us (Healthy Growing Churches).  

Not only do I review every key decision made by Three Worlds in all of our 18 countries, but we also talk about strategy, organization, personal issues, and even have Case Studies that try to look into the future to anticipate future problems or issues as Three Worlds grows.  It is the highlight of my year each year.

Our first one was held in Paris and London to introduce the 3W Roundtable to the two most important cities in Europe and to meet our churches there and see the challenges they face.  RT II was held in Cairo, to introduce the Roundtable to the Middle East and to Ken and Keli Oldham.  RT III this week was held in Arco, Italy to introduce the 3W Roundtable to our Italy Expansion Initiative that Three Worlds has kicked off this year.  And next year, the 3W Roundtable will be held in Phoenix, Arizona as we focus on Three Worlds' work in the USA and Canada.  It will be held in November 2014.

The 3W Roundtable challenged me hard this year, encouraged me constantly, and set the stage for even more health from Three Worlds.  I am very grateful to them and their churches for supporting the 3WRT.  Yes, it is a group of all men, but that is because these are men that have walked alongside me through some extremely difficult times over the past 13 years and there is a level of sharing there that is only appropriate to share with men (and my wife).  It's important for men in ministry to have other men to walk alongside of them and be a true and deep sounding-board.   

I am already looking forward to Roundtable IV in Phoenix.  And I have walked away with many great pieces of advice as we set up things for Three Worlds for 2014 and beyond! To the churches that have allowed the pastors to visit:  Please continue to support them on the Roundtable and allow them to join me each year.  Their strategy and words of advice is empowering Three Worlds to be a wonderful, healthy organization.  We need them.   

Prayers for Dad

Last weekend, my Father, Harry Nachtigall, had a stroke in San Jose, Costa Rica.  For the most part, details have been pretty sketchy.  Family is keeping me updated in bits and pieces, phone connections have been pretty awful, and the hospital doctors haven't given that much information.  What I know is that he had a stroke on the right side of his brain and he has paralysis in the Left arm and leg.  He will need to move to the rehabilitation wing.  

It's also clear that since many people started praying, he has improved remarkably well.  He was the patient in the worst condition on Sunday in his ICU room of 6 people, and now he is in the best shape (May God Bless those others).  He did not sound good to me at all on Sunday/Monday, but sounded better during my later call.   

This is always the hardest part about this job for all of us in this line of work.  Births, birthdays, graduations, wedding, sickness, and funerals happen while we live overseas and rarely are we able to be with our families.  I know all of my colleagues understand that frustrating, helpless feeling.  I've only seen my father and my sister for a handful of days over the last 14 years or so.  And of course, all of them miss out on Marco's childhood.  Yes, we're thankful for email and skype and all of that--but it's never the same as being there. 

Well, this isn't a pity party.  We love what we are doing and all of us feel called to do it.  It's more of a tribute to all of my colleagues that have lived through this all before. Cheers to you. 

My father's visitation times have been next to nothing.  Julia gets 90 minutes a day and that's all.  We are waiting to hear when that time gets expanded, how long it will be expanded to, when he will get to move to rehabilitation therapy, and what does the neurosurgeon say about his prognosis and what happens next.  I have not asked permission for a leave-of-absence yet, but I haven't ruled out traveling to Costa Rica one we know more about visitation possibilities.  

I've been deeply touched by all the love, support, prayers, and well-wishes from everyone around the world for my Dad.  My Dad served as a missionary in Kenya, Panama, and Costa Rica and has lived the past 20 years in Costa Rica working as a teacher and in retirement.  He's a dearly loved man who has never had an enemy.  Quite a remarkable feat for a human being.  Thank you for thinking of him during this time.

I just returned from Budapest, Hungary where we are having a special consultation with the Hungarian Church of God.  Tomorrow I will preach in the church in Paris.  And on Monday we kick off our 3W Roundtable III in Northern Italy (Venice and Lago di Garda). That will be followed by a 3W Seminar in Rome.  

Watch This Profound Interview: Nadia Bolz-Webber

This is the best Christian interview I have seen in a very long time.  Former Church of Christ, stand-up comedian, drug-addict  Nadia Bolz-Webber re-discovers Christ and becomes a Lutheran Pastor of a church that welcomes the strange and has a chocolate baptismal fountain.  Before you stereotype, Nadia as just another trendy, Emerging Church, Liberal (?) Christian, check out her thoughts on:

*The need for authority in the church. 

*Her journey away from subjective Evangelicalism to historical/liturgical Lutheranism.

*Her hilarious story of being freaked out by people coming to her church that wore dockers and suits. 

*How we individualize the faith too much in modern Christianity

*How God uses our screw-ups

*Why Mary Magdalene is special

*Dealing with disillusionment in the church

...and many other subjects.  She has great pearls of wisdom, is very down-to-earth, and is quite funny.  Even if you have to break it up into 10 minute segments, it is worth watching.  For all the humor, this interview is surprisingly dense and profound.  Each answer she gives to every question could generate a longer discussion and essays.

Why the Syria Decision is So Difficult

The United States is contemplating a military strike against Bashar Assad's forces within the coming weeks.  President Obama is asking Congress to decide whether the use of authorized force is appropriate in light of Assad's use of chemical weapons on his own people.  Congress appears divided, and the American public and global opinion is strongly against a military strike.  Yet, many have seen the footage of women, children, and other innocents dying or struggling to survive after being intentionally attacked with Sarin.  Why is the decision of whether to punish a leader for using chemical warfare so difficult? 

There are many reasons:  America's war weariness, the fact that we have very few allies in Syria, the fact that terrorist organizations are operating there and could benefit from a strike, the fact that we are not prepared to escalate if something goes wrong, questions about evidence, and a lack of a coherent plan for what happens after the punishing attack.

But the factor that makes it an excruciating decision is this: 

Remember World War II where millions were rounded up and put into confined, concrete bunkers and were then gassed to death?  This is the same kind of weapon, but from the sky.  There is no doubt that we do not want to live in a world where lethal gas chambers fall from the sky, killing people, crops, animal life, and poisoning soil for ages to come.  Airborne "gas chambers" that drop on people over large swaths of territory should be stopped at all costs.  

I take it seriously when I hear reports that President Obama and John Kerry were truly horrified at the damage that was done through these chemical weapons, particularly on children.  Furthermore, the use of the weapons has escalated, and I do believe a panicked Assad would use those weapons to clear out neighborhoods in vital areas of the capital city Damascus.  I believe the classified information about the extent of this attack would be more horrific than what we have been able to hear and see on the news.

HOWEVER--the problem is that a strike against Syria will not leave the USA, or probably the world, in a better place.  The reason is the same as why the long-term occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq were a huge mistake:  You cannot fight a modern war, against a pre-modern enemy, in a post-modern world.
 

A Modern War, A Pre-Modern enemy, a Post-Modern World

Let me explain.  The enemies we now face in the 21st century are not like typical nation-state actors of the 19th and 20th Century.  Trans-national terrorists and men like Assad do not care about international norms.  They are not beholden to run a country.  They are free to be completely irresponsible, reckless, and nihilistic.  Their "moral code" allows for complete destruction of the enemy, the land, and any sense of decency.  Assad is not fighting for Syria, or even a re-constituted Syria.  At this point, he is simply fighting for his own personal survival.  He crossed the rubicon long ago, and will now either face death, a war crimes tribunal, or will lead a small, pariah state on the coast of Syria surrounded by hostile enemies.  He has no reason to follow international norms.  He is part of a pre-modern world--where there is no adherence to a universal, international code made up by nation-states.

The US response is still that of the 19th and 20th century:  Trying to figure out how to punish a country---as if Syria is a country.  It is not. It is one guy, his crooked generals, and a semi-committed military that is still, relatively well-armed.  As in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US makes the mistake of treating these countries as if they are real countries that can be reformed and controlled with some time, effort, money, military fire-power and possibly occupation.  But they are not:  They are tribal societies (many hostile to each other) that through force have been masquerading as one, cohesive country.  While no one argues that attacks on Afghanistan needed to occur after 9/11, the attempt to wage warfare (and build democracy) with Afghanistan and Iraq as if they were 21st Century nation-states was a modern idea--and a huge mistake.  A modern-state cannot emerge from a pre-modern state through war.  Countries like Japan and Germany that were re-built after World War II had ancient societies or civilizations upon which to build.  While Syria is an ancient geographical territory, the "country" itself is divided upon many different ethnic and religious groups as well as Palestinian refugees.  Now we can add to it, various foreign mercenaries and terrorist groups.  A US military response that belongs in the model of 20th century modern warfare does not fit this situation any better than our futile attempts to reform Iraq and Afghanistan.  

What about the post-modern part?   What I mean by this is that no innocent casualty, no misguided missile strike, or dead American solider will be tolerated in this post-modern world of 24/7 media which really believes that warfare is a thing of the past.  We don't wage wars to win or conquer anymore.  We do "military strikes" or act on "a resolution" or do "nation-building."  It is a half-cocked approach that starts to rub people very wrong when things go wrong---and they always go wrong if it's anything larger than Granada or capturing Manuel Noriega.  

So what is being set up here is no different than what we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan:  A modern war, fought against a pre-modern enemy, in a post-modern world.  The chances of a positive result are nearly zero.

A New Era of No Wins

A positive outcome would be nearly impossible at this juncture.  And contrary to what some are suggesting, earlier intervention would not have done the trick either (see Iraq and Afghanistan).  What is needed to even make a run at democracy? A benevolent military or policing force, a long civilizational history, a per capita GDP of $7,000 US, high rates of literacy, a wise government, and a democratic impulse are just a few of the variables that it usually takes to create a stable democracy.  This would have been a stretch prior to the Syrian Civil War.  Chinese investment and the strong-hand of Assad's regime was making Syria a fast-growing, modernizing, and attractive country; but it was an authoritarian state.  All of that is gone now.  

Today, the chances of Syria ever coming together as one country is pretty much zero.  The best one could hope for is the end of Assad and the balkinization of the country (perhaps through further warfare) until it becomes a bunch of small countries like the former Yugoslavia.  However, the terrorist element and the Civil War happening within Islam makes this peaceful outcome highly unlikely.   What is most probable is that Syria will be controlled by numerous militias, many at odds with each other, encouraging ethnic strife for years to come--without any peaceful evolution.

Furthermore, a US strike at best will cause collateral damage and further erosion of the moral credibility of the United States.  More likely, one of the following things will happen:   1) Assad will go down shortly after and Syria will be in utter chaos.  2) Assad will lash out against Jordan, Israel, or Lebanon and force someone (the USA, Israel) to get into the mix.  3) Assad will continue using chemical weapons with the only way to stop him being more strikes. 4) Our supposed "allies' in Syria turn on the USA. 5) The strike unleashes a chain of events that involve multiple countries and causes a tremendous refugee crisis dwarfing the current one--mostly falling upon Lebanon, Jordan and Europe (similar to 2, but more long-term and bigger). 

Even if the strikes are limited to 2 or 3 days and no one innocent is killed,  we are still not in the position to make anyone in Syria adhere to international norms of behavior.  This is because we are not dealing with a cohesive, modern, nation-state.   There are no "rebels" that can control the country.  There is instead a myriad of opposition groups--many hostile to each other.

The U.S.--always the eternal optimist--cannot fathom that some problems don't have simple, easy solutions.  Both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of this decade after decade (See the current inability of Americans to realize that there is no magical way to restore the economy, avoid taxes, AND have great Medicare, Social Security, and military/anti-terrorism security). Americans by their nature believe they will find a solution to any problem.  They put a man on the moon, after all.  No movie captures that American optimism better than Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" where a crisis in space leads NASA scientists to, on-the-fly, come up with ingenious ways of saving the crew.  George W. Bush's policies were rooted in a naivete that is simply stunning to behold. Nation-building and democracy in Afghanistan where sex between man and boy is still very much okay and women are viewed as no better than animals?  Really?   Clearly this person has not traveled much.  Now Barack Obama, who has lived in different cultures, is repeating the same mistake.  And I believe it is because American Presidents, American lawmakers, and the American military has failed to internalize that there are some things in the 21st Century that we will not be able to do.  There is no magic bullet, no happy ending, no guaranteed way to make the world completely safe.  

I believe U.S. lawmakers and Obama's administration when they say that the classified information about what Assad has done is a moral outrage that the world cannot ignore;  That colorless gas is one bridge too far.  And that it will be tempting for Assad to use it again, because he is a very desperate, morally weak man.  

However, if we vote "yes," for military strikes, we must admit that the hornets nest that has already been stirred up, will most likely be even more lethal--and we won't want to pay the price to shut it down.  We never do, because we live in a post-Modern, post-Hiroshima world, and we don't go for complete victories anymore.  Complete victory requires total destruction.  Instead, we settle for stale-mates to avoid mushroom clouds There is something honorable about that.  It shows civilizational progress.  But not every corner of the world will abide by those restrictions.  Some really do want war to the death by any means necessary.

We must take a stand against chemical weapons!  We must also not make a bad nightmare even worse!  What to do?  This time, there is no right answer.  We're looking for the moral clarity of D-Day in World War II, but that era has passed us by.    We are left with tragedy or tragedy.  Both outcomes will be bad.  One will be worse.  Which one do you choose?

3W Video Interview with the Bulgarians

As you know, we recently had our summer edition of the Budapest Lectures.  It was the third in the series, and the first that went regional, as we were joined by our friends from the Church of God in Bulgaria.  While in Budapest, Ken Oldham (3W-Middle East) interviewed our 3 Bulgarian visitors: Svetlana, Kenneth, and Sonny.  Check out the video below: 

July 2013 Budapest Lectures welcomed 4 leaders from the Church of God in Bulgaria. 3W Team member Dave S brought 3 leaders with him. 3W Team member Ken O. briefly interviews each about their experience.

3W Video Interview on the Situation in Egypt

Tomorrow, Patrick heads to Egypt to spend some time with the Oldham family and check up on things.  Meanwhile, Ken Oldham will be leading a group of 4 young people from Egypt to join the Ana Terzo camp in Lebanon (3W connecting youth as alw...ays!).  Recently, Ken interviewed one of our Egyptian leaders, Dr. Latif.  He gives suggestions on how to support Egypt during this difficult time. Posted on our Youtube channel: ThreeWorldsTV.

An August 2013 Update on the Crisis in Egypt. Interview with Dr. Latif by Ken Oldham (3W-Middle East)

Why is the Western Media Getting Egypt so Wrong?

This piece by the usually sharp David Remnick in the New Yorker is a mess.  He's strongly against what is going on in Egypt and his arguments mirror a lot of what is being said in Western media (US and Europe).  If I were to summarize why the Western Media is getting Egypt so wrong in one sentence I would say:  They are starting from the point of what they expect democracies to look like (freedom of assembly, willingness to work with other parties, willingness to allow a President to serve his full term) and never bothering to analyze the situation ON THE GROUND  as it was when Morsi was running the country into the ground at such a rate that it would not have been recoverable.  

Egypt, this country of 80 million, can't afford to have all of its financial reserves plowed through in a mere few months by an incompetent President.  It cannot afford to live without basic security.  It cannot afford to intentionally court the worst elements of Islamic Fascism in a post-9/11 world, and it can't afford to lose Foreign direct investment.  Yet under President Morsi all of this was happening at the speed of sound. Add to this his ridiculously anti-liberal/anti-constitutional behavior.

How "Democratic" Egypt is today, is kind of a moot point.  It has to have basic security and financial solvency and ways for wealth generation BEFORE it can start that path toward the kind of democracy the West wants instantaneously.  But the Western media has naively believed that Egypt should be at the point of a Hungry or Czech Republic in 1991.  There were many reasons why certain portion of Eastern Europe stabilized so quickly after 1989 and those conditions don't exist in Egypt or Libya or Tunisia.

"Democracy" is just too vague of a word, and a media that really cares about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West is not going to have the discipline to report about complicated 21st Century issues in any kind of accurate way.  

3W Interview with Emerging Leader Marcos Lovaglio

Marcos Lovaglio is leading the youth of Arco and Treviso Churches of God.  Every week he travels back and forth between the two cities and spends his weekends sleeping on the floor of the church.  We discuss his idea of "church-in-the-house," why the youth groups are growing, the difference between Northern and Southern Italy, the Italian Mafia and much more.

3W: How old are you?

Marcos: I'm 23. 

3W: Where do you live?

Marcos: In Treviso.   

3W: But you actually have to go back and forth between Treviso (by Venice on the Northeast coast) and Arco (in the Northern mountains)  every week?  Why?

Marcos: I feel called by the Lord to do that to win souls for Christ.  It's a long trip, of course, but you do it for love, love of the mission, love of the brothers and sisters, and to obey the Lord.  It's a call that I have.   I feel fine about it and I feel I'm doing what the Lord is calling me to do.

3W: How are the churches in Treviso and Arco?

Marcos: In Treviso we are still small, in Arco, thank the Lord, the church is growing.  And the beautiful thing is that whether the church is small or big, there is a real genuine warmth with the brothers and sisters.  You don't get tired helping them and they really appreciate you.  That gives you strength to continue. 

3W: How do you get there each week?

Marcos: I  catch the train at 6:30AM from Treviso and go to the town of Trento.  From Trento I get on a bus, because Arco doesn't have a train station.  If I don't have to study, I can go on Friday.  It takes me about 5 hours to make the trip.  I do get a discount because I'm a student.   Once I'm not a student, it will cost more.

3W: What did you study in college and how does it help you in your work?

Marcos: I usually work in a factory as my regular job.  For ministry, psychology is real helpful to understand how people work--especially youth.  It's helpful to understand people's behaviors.  Even the way people sit, or the posture they have has a meaning.  Psychology helps you understand that.  It's very useful.  It's not that you study people like they are objects, but it helps you understand people.  It's very necessary for what I am doing.  I chose it because I liked it, not because I thought it would help for youth work, but it has!

3W: The youth group in Arco has grown fast.  What happened?

Marcos: There were people in these churches before that had a very negative experience in the church.  When we started our church we did our homework to see how we could help.  We decided to accept people for how they are NOW, not how we want them to be.  Nowadays, the youth may call me to pray for one of their family members because they are sick, but they also ask that you help them learn how to pray.  I was surprised when one of the young people asked me about masturbation.  You have to be able to handle those moments.  I was actually very happy that they were asking such intimate questions.  It's often hard to talk with others about such private things like sexuality.  I explained that it's not very clear in the BIble, but we do know that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. These are delicate questions, but it shows you that they have confidence in you.   

3W: What are you focusing on now?  

Marcos: I see that the new youth that are coming to the church are seeing the example of the other youth. My objective is that the youth that are going deep will be able to be good models for the newer kids that are younger.  It's much better if these younger youth have older youth to look up to than just me.  So I'm really focusing on these older, fast-growing, new Christians.  And we are having great results.  Every once in a while, someone goes off the deep end--maybe over a girlfriend or boyfriend--but it's not very serious.  I am really happy with where I am, and I feel like I am exactly where God wants me to be.  

3W: You are doing something really cool.  You are starting to take the church on the road in something you call "Church in the House."  Tell us about this unique idea. 

Marcos:  A lot of the kids come from non-Christian homes and we meet on Saturday nights for youth group.  The parents were a bit nervous about where their kids were spending their time on Saturday nights.  So we asked the parents, can we come to your house to have our youth Bible study.  They said "Yes," so we started to have church in the house--taking it on the road.  

This actually killed two birds with one stone.  On one hand, the parents felt better because they now know exactly what their kids are doing.  But also, even though the parents are busy around the house, they inevitably see what is going on and start to hear the Gospel message and get to see what church is actually like without having to go on a Sunday morning. 

3W:  I just love this idea.  Taking the church on the road! 

Marcos: The kids are changing.  The parents see that their kids are changing: the way they speak, the way they think, the way they do things. The way their lives are more orderly.  

One girl was always swearing when she came to church. Now she doesn't swear at all.  It's not because I told her it was bad.  It's because nobody spoke like that in our group.  And she decided on her own to stop swearing. Now her mouth is always filled with praises for God.   

3W: We greatly enjoyed sitting in one of your Bible lessons recently.  It was really good.  Recently I heard that you asked the question in one of your Bible lessons:  "What if we treated the Bible like we treat our cell phone?"  Can you explain?

Marcos: I thought of this because it is something very common today.  We use the cell phone for everything.  They are often better than computers.  Every 30 seconds you are looking at it, you are getting messages, talking to friends, and you expect the cell phone to guide you through a city you don't know well.  Obviously  you use it to speak to people.  When we forget it in the house, we run back to the house right away because we need it so bad.  So the question was "What if we used the Bible in the same way?"  To send messages, to call God, to "call" others.  What if we ran back into our house with urgency to get our Bible to respond to all of our questions and to guide us. Wouldn't that be wonderful if we depended on the Bible as much or more than we depend on our cell phones.  What do we do with Wikipedia? We look for explanations to important things.  Do we do that with our Bible?   

Which one should we be most dependent on?  The Bible or our cell phone?  In the BIble you can find emergency numbers.  Psalm 90 is one of those emergency numbers.  When the world seems too strong for you as a Christian, read Psalm 90.  It's an invitation to believe that God will help you with everything. He created the world.  He is above creation. If we are the children of God, we have authority.  It's difficult to do, but if you try it sincerely, we will be super prepared and stronger than we are today.  We spent 2 months talking about different "emergency numbers" and the kids loved it.  What type of Christians would we be if we treated the Bible like we treat our cell phone. It's a challenge for us.  And of course it's with other things that we put more importance on than the BIble.   

3W: Americans and others may not realize how divided Italy really is.  Can you expalin, what's the difference between Northern Italy and Southern Italy?

Marcos: There's kind of a hostility between the North and the South.  A lot of times, the ones from the North say that they are more Italians than the southerners.  And the ones in the South say they are the ones that provide the food and the work that the rest of the country is dependent on.  The North is industrial (wealthy) and  south is poorer and more agricultural.    A southerner will say the greatest beauty and the best food is in the South.  But a Northerner will say the north is more modern and beautiful.

The North has always been rich.  And the south has always been put to the side--not just economically but politically.  Even in the times of Mussolini, they didn't put important fortresses in the South because they didn't care about it.  So the Americans came in through the south in World War II because it was less fortified.  The South has always been left isolated.  And so that's why you see so much mafia in the South and people in government that are actually connected to the mafia.  In the South, the mafia can move without much problems and they are powerful. And they are growing and expanding up in Rome.  There's no control in the South and it's always been that way in history.  Even previous conquerors ignored the South.  The countries near the South are African countries that people don't view as important.  In the North the neighboring countries are Austria, Switzerland, France--the "more important countries." 

There was a famous patriot in Italy named Garibaldi. He wanted to unite Italy but when he went to the South, he found all these uneducated peasants and they knew nothing about politics.  When he tried to unite them down South, he lost a lot of soldiers.  The Southerns killed many.  The only real power in Italy has always been the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church was very against Garibaldi uniting Italy.   

It's very interesting. Italy is only 150 years old, but it is still not a unified country. It only appears to people as though it is a united country.  There's also a division with the capital and the center of the country.  It's a disaster.  But that's my opinion.  

The people of the South are definitely more warm and friendly.  The Northerners are more cold and they were part of the aristocratic families so they feel superior.  I originally come from Venezuela, and the people are very humble, so I prefer the South.   (laughs) I consider myself a peasant of the world because I was a peasant southerner in Venezuela and my Italian ancestry is from the peasant South.   

3W:  Tell us about your family's hometown in the South of Italy. 

Marcos: We come from a small town called Sala Consiina in the mountains of Southern Italy.  All of my father's family is there--my aunts and uncles.  My grandfather was a very famous General in World War II and there is a statue of him in the middle of the town.  It's in the provence of Sardenia (the shin of the Italian boot).   

 3W: How can we pray for you and the churches in Northern Italy?

Marcos: The first thing would be that the people of that area would have softer hearts.  And that God will give strength to those working with the youth: strength meaning discernment, patience.  LIke the kind of petition Solomon made when he asked for wisdom.  There are always very delicate problems and you can easily make mistakes that cause bigger problems.  I just keep saying it over and over:  patience and wisdom.  

Marcos Lovaglio visiting Berlin.