Last Post of 2010

Probably, anyway. I'm about to go to south Georgia (not where Stalin was born...the other one), which means I'll be doing less computering and more stargazingfriedfoodeatingfarmwalking-southernaccenthavingstorytellingsweetteadrinking and possibly even some paper-writing. By the way, my wife is half German, so I think that gives me the right to combine words to make one really long one.

Merry Christmas and happy new year to all! Eat up....and don't forget to pray for this city (Bangkok...see above), for Thai people to hear and believe that our King has come, and for Kiki and I as we gather partners to send us to tell Thai people about our King.

Not much to do with Thailand...

Except that a we met a very dear friend and supporter for lunch, but today I ate one of the best pizzas I've ever had in my life. If you are ever in Atlanta and have a couple of hours, check out Antico Pizza. They import all of their ingredients (including the water in the dough!!!) from Napoli and Campania and it is incredible.

Check it out.

Book Recommendation...

I'm currently reading Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel by Eugene H. Merrill for my "Judges to Esther" class. Usually, books like this (surveys of Scripture) are extremely dry and boring, but this book reads a bit like Lord of the Rings! I can't remember the last time I got excited about picking up a bible survey textbook!

If you want to get a feel for the context of Old Testament figures and accounts, this is a great read. The sections on Abraham and on the Exodus were fascinating...lots of information on the probable people, places and political circumstances, but written in a way that draws you along and pulls you forward through the pages.

Turning the Tide in Thailand...

Sometimes I am stunned by the opportunity that God has called us to...there is so little knowledge of Christ in Thailand, and we get to go and announce that the King has come and that He will come again! This is from one of our teammate's blog:

Westerners' New Year's?

That's what my neighbor said she thought Christmas was about before she was a Christian. She thought it was just New Year's for Westerners. She thought that way since she was a kid. Most Thai people have a similar thought she said. Now that she's a Christian, she is thankful that she knows what Christmas really is, "The day we celebrate when Jesus came down to be a human and live with us." Loved that conversation. I pray that God opens many more eyes to what Christmas really is this month, and especially at our church's outreach party this Friday night. Please pray.

Be sure to visit her blog and keep up with her, too: Melanie Currie

Leadership Bio: Yupawadee

Or "Yu" (pronounced "you" with an abrupt stop at the very end of the word...practice, I'm quizzing you when we meet next). I've known Yu for about 7 or 8 years now...she was involved with our church in Bangkok when I was an intern in 2004. She is laugh-out-loud hilarious almost all the time, incredibly lovable and personable, and she loves everybody. Well, she is still around and has her hands in many different ministries at New City Fellowship (our church in Bangkok, not the one in Chattanooga). She became a Christian as a young girl in the Isaan (Northeastern) region of Thailand. She is a graduate of Bangkok Bible College and has also started taking a few seminary classes there while she is on staff at the church.

I asked her how we here in the US can pray for her as she seeks to be a part of the transformation of that great city through the Gospel of Christ, here is her request:

You can pray for me that I will have enough strength, wisdom, mercy, love and obedience to work for Him.

There you have it...please fight (on your knees) for this wonderful sister in Christ

Quoting a quoter

This is from a sermon by Michael Oh (which is linked a few posts down...listen to it!):

Someone
 asked
 Charles
 Spurgeon, 
"Will
 the 
heathen 
who
 have
 never 
heard
 the
 Gospel
 be
 saved?” 

 Spurgeon
 replied,
 “
It
 is 
more 
a 
question 
with
 me 
whether 
we
‐‐
who 
have
 the
 Gospel
 and 
fail
 to 
give 
it 
to 
those
 who 
have 
not
‐‐
can 
be 
saved."

Go, send, or disobey.

Prayer for wisdom...

Apart from raising up a team to partner with us in both prayer and finances, Kiki and I are also thinking about who we will invite to join our team in Bangkok...

Much of the decisions are already made in this area, we will possibly have a team of 6 single Americans as well as 7-10 Thais on our staff in the Bangna area of Bangkok. However, most of these are short-term and will be transitioning in and out of the team at different times.

Pray for us, and pray for our church New City Fellowship Church, as we begin and continue to think through who we invite to serve with us. In the next couple of weeks, Kiki and I will be meeting with most of these people over dinners, coffee, and at church. Pray for wisdom as we begin to think through gifting, needs of the church, and staffing different ministry needs in the next 4-5 years and even further out. Recruiting is what I love...and it takes having an eye on the present and the future, on people as they are now and as they might be in a few years, and on what the church needs. Of course, I'm not in a position at this time to know (completely) what the church needs...so...do you see the problem? A know-nothing, unproven, seminary student is trying to recruit for service in a place where he doesn't fully understand all the needs of the church, but in order to get people there, he has to do it anyway. Quite the conundrum. But, we serve a great God, a sovereign God (I don't know that I could do missions without the doctrine of the sovereignty of God)...who is able to work these things out. So, pray for us.

One more to go...

I just registered for my last semester of classes at RTS Jackson. I'll be taking 11 hours, these are my classes:

Pastoral and Social Ethics
Communication II
Communication Lab (Preaching)
Worship
Old Testament Exegesis II

I'm especially excited about...graduation. Not that excited about my classes yet, though I'm sure they'll be great. Now, over the next 2 months before Spring semester starts I need to finish 2 virtual classes (Judges to Esther and Poets), write my reports for Presbytery, write a theological paper for Presbytery, and finish my finals for this semester. Stay focused...stay focused.