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.

Post-Thanksgiving Ramblings (or maybe 'waddlings')

We had a great time with family and friends these past 5 days. Its never truly relaxing to drive all over the state of GA and living out of a suitcase, but we really were able to get a little rest. Holidays are a time for us to catch up with old friends, see family, and now, to meet with our partners. But, all in all, this was surprisingly laid-back and it was a very special time for us. In what was possibly our last Thanksgiving in the US for a few years, Kiki's family, my dad and step-mom, and other extended family met at my mom and step-dad's place for an afternoon of gluttony and fellowship. I know that the previous sentence may strike some of you as being very strange...yes, my parents and step-parents are godly people who are not only civil, but genuinely loving and friendly to each other. God has really done great things...that is what I was most thankful for this year.


Also, we worshiped at The Vine Community Church and got to see and spend time with many of the people that we love from our 3 years in North Atlanta. To my surprise, Caleb Click (the middle school pastor who served while I was the high school pastor and a close friend) preached both services...what a gifted guy. I definitely recommend going to the Vine's website (linked above) and finding his sermon. If God ever calls us back to the US, I hope He calls us to work with (or at least near) Caleb.

So...excuse the ramblings. It was just an overwhelmingly good holiday. I think that the possibility that this could be one of our last for a while made it that much more precious to us.

I love Parody.

Let's go to Macon....Mississippi!

Pray for us this weekend...we're heading over to Macon, MS to share our story at a friend's church. I'm preaching on 1 Peter 3:8-17 and on how our hope in Christ allows us to live our lives as ambassadors of the Gospel even in the midst of trouble.

We'll also be staying tomorrow night in a cabin belonging to one of the elders of that church...we're long overdue for a day away to ourselves.

Extremely Long-armed children scare me...

OK...this falls squarely into the "and Other Places" category, as we snapped this photo in Merida, Mexico, but I still thought it was humorous (and a little scary).

I'm not sure what it takes to get children to read in Mexico, but this might have kept me away from books had I watched this truck rumble down my street as a kid.

Missions as Fasting

Michael Oh is an MTW missionary in Japan with an amazing story. Please, please listen to this sermon about his way to view missions...it is an encouraging, sometimes shocking way to look at missions and to think about our involvement in global missions as the people of God called to be ambassadors of our great God.




Listen here: Missions as Fasting

The Hope of Nations...

We're heading to the Global Missions Conference in the morning...it'll be a nice break from school and Jackson. Though we'll be working the whole time and probably not getting a lot of sleep, it'll be so nice to be with our team and to be able to tell our story as a team.

Pray for us and for MTW Thailand as we meet with potential partners this weekend.

Book Recommendation: CrossTalk

Not all of my assigned books at RTS are helpful. I have read many only to ask myself afterwards, "Now what was the point in reading that?". Michael R. Emlet's CrossTalk: Where Life & Scripture Meet, however, was not one of those books.

Several times this year, I've wondered why we don't have more counseling classes in the MDiv curriculum. If a pastor spends most of his time with people, and if most of those people have pain and real issues, shouldn't we have more than 3 hours of instruction about counseling? Of course, we certainly don't need more hours added to our degree program, but I do envy the practical, "hands on" bent of the Marriage and Family Therapy Degree at RTS (Kiki's degree).


Taking a few hours on Saturday morning, I read through CrossTalk: Where Life & Scripture Meet for my Pastoral Counseling class. If you have ever wondered how to use Scripture well when talking to hurting, broken people...then pick up this book. Though Emlet doesn't give specific, step-by-step instructions for every situation, he provides good principles for using Scripture well in counseling...in other words, using Scripture thoughtfully, in its context, and in a way that doesn't make a "proof text" out of your favorite verses. His basic premise is that Scripture is a story of redemption and that all of it points us to Christ. Also, all people are part of a story and must learn to see themselves as part of the Great Story of God's redemption. The counselor, therefore, isn't someone who should quote proof-texts at people from a list of topical verses, but someone who helps broken people connect their own stories to the Story of the Bible, in which people are broken and need a Savior.

This is one of those books that I will definitely need to revisit and it is one that will keep me thinking for a long time to come.

Heading to Huntsville....

To tell the story again. I just want to say...I really love support raising. We get to talk about what God has done in our lives, what He is doing in our lives, and what we pray He will do in our lives and in Thailand. Then we invite the church to be the church....in other words, to support missions.

Pray for us as we travel, as I preach, and as Kiki and I share about our ministry in Thailand.

Umm....Milk?

I think that its supposed to say "Yumm!..Milk", but they botched it. Actually, this place (ChokChai Dairy), is quite 'yumm'...great milkshakes and fatty burgers. A great occasional break from rice.

Missions in Hymns

From "Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness" by Nikolaus von Zinzendorf

O, let the dead now hear Thy voice.
Bid, Lord, Thy banished ones rejoice
Their beauty this, their glorious dress
Jesus the Lord, our Righteousness.

Oh, that the dead would hear His voice. That's the hope of the missionary, whether here or in a foreign land.

Leadership Bio: Jane

In 2009 Kiki and I took about 10 students to Bangkok to work with MTW Thailand, mainly doing campus ministry for 2 months. During our trip, we all lived in a big house together near the university, and as the summer progressed, more and more students would simply drop by and stay for a few hours. Around the time of our campus retreat we met Jane (in the pic to the left) and she began to spend time with our group and with the Thai believers at New City Fellowship (our church in the Ramkhamhaeng II area of Bangkok). Jane continued to spend time with the missionaries and Thais after we left, and some time during the fall of 2009 she came to believe in Christ.

Pray with us as we pray for Jane. She is a young believer who is growing in her faith and learning to be who God designed her to be. Pray that God will protect her from doubt and fear and that her family will come to Christ through her witness. Pray that she will continue to spend time with believers and that she will grow through fellowship, the Word and prayer. Pray also that God will use her to draw others to Himself and that one day soon Jane will be a great disciple-maker for Christ and a key part of the spread of the Gospel in Thailand.

Holding the Rope: Giving

How Can I ‘hold the rope’?

Or, in other words, how can I support a missionary? A little background for some who might not be familiar with the process and concept...support raising is the way that missionaries go overseas, sometimes the denomination does it and sometimes the missionary does it. Like a pastor in the US, most missionaries must rely on the financial support of fellow believers to take the Gospel to the unreached.

Here are some practical ways that you (and yes...I mean you) can ‘hold the rope’:

• Students: personally, when I was a college student, one of the most meaningful things that I did was to commit to support a missionary. I decided that I could shave $35 per month from my personal budget and give to missions...and it taught me that no one, if they are careful and intentional, is unable to partner financially with a missionary. $35 may not be doable for every student, but consider putting aside $5 per week to give to missions...which could translate into one less trip to the coffee shop.

• Singles and Couples: Consider foregoing one nice dinner out per month and doing something at home instead to be able to give $50-$75 (or more) to send us to Bangkok. Some great cheap dates are picnics, pizza and a movie at home, board games and puzzles, reading your favorite books aloud to one another or taking a long walk together.

• Everyone: if you are connected to a church, consider being an advocate for us as we seek for partner churches. One friend of ours simply talked to his pastor and gave him our information. After sending a letter to this pastor, we are most likely going to attend and share at that church’s missions conference. This is a great way to find financial and prayer partners.

Just as we need people who will pray for us while we take the Gospel to Bangkok, we also need people who are willing to give financially to send us...people who are willing to 'hold the rope' by investing in the Kingdom with their money.

Tea, anyone?

Thai Tea Time from Charita Patamikakorn on Vimeo.

I went to a parenting conference. . .

No, we are not pregnant.

I went because my favorite professor was speaking at our church on parenting. I had already read his book Loving Obedience, by Dr. Bill Richardson, and had sat under his teaching for the last two years, so I knew the conference was going to be great.

I was right. At least I thought it was great and the feedback from other parents seemed similar. So, I now have a lot of tools for parenting (or babysitting), but more important for the present time, I have more tools to pass on to my clients. One of the most profound tools he spoke about is not just for parenting but for all relationships: notice and tell others what you like about them. It is possible to do this for strangers and we sometimes do: "I like that bag." "Where did you get your haircut." "You have a great smile." But it is often harder to notice these thigns in the people we love because they seem so mundane, and it is sometimes even harder to say them if life is busy or you are tired etc. Anyway, I felt challenged to offer more "truth in love" that is positive and not just the hard to hear truth that we usually think about.

The Real Pad Thai

This guy is a hero of mine. The only reason I can give is that he makes some of the best Pad Thai I've ever had. I'm not even a Pad Thai kind of guy...its generally too sweet for me to eat a whole plate of it. But I have no trouble downing a plate of this stuff.





Just down the street from where our short-term team stayed this summer, across the street from the King's Park, and all decked out with plastic chairs and folding card tables, this guy sets up each day from about lunch until late at night and he works his magic. Can't wait to see him again, and this:

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew that I could live in Thailand after my first fried chicken and sticky rice breakfast, but THIS just seals the deal! I'm not quite as happy as I was in this picture, but I'm pretty excited.

Missions in the OT: 1 Kings 8:41-43

I love the Old Testament. I'm growing more and more fond of it by the day, it seems. Not that I ever hated it or anything, but as I've been pretty aggressively reading through the Scriptures again and outlining each book, the Spirit is awakening me to just how much we need the OT.

In 1 Kings 8, just after Solomon built the Temple and brought the Ark of the Covenant up to the Most Holy Place, he prays a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God. In the midst of the prayer, as he prays for the people of Israel, Solomon prays this:

Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

In the OT, God had the same plan that He has now (we're in NT times, by the way). As the King and Creator of the earth, He chose Israel to be His ambassadors, proclaiming the message and kingdom of God to all nations. The goal of Yahweh was never to be a local deity; He was and is King of all the earth and as the nations saw what He did for a small, unlikely band of nomads, they saw that He is "a great God, and a great King above all gods" (Ps. 95:3). The Temple itself, among other things, represented the established kingdom and presence of God, and Solomon here prays for the foreigners who will come to worship, that they may know and fear Yahweh, the true God. We can pray the same thing...except that now, the Temple has been replaced by Christ Himself. The nations don't have to come to a specific location to worship (read John 4); now the ambassadors go to the ends of the earth. Pray that the nations may know and fear our God, the same God that Solomon prayed to, and pray also for His ambassadors who go to the nations.

Upcoming Schedule and Events

These next few months will get busier and busier for us as we set up meetings with churches and individuals and as we attend and speak at missions conferences.





Pray for these events...that many people will partner with us both financially and in prayer:

• October 6...Coffee meeting with missions director of Highlands PCA in Jackson
  
• October 10...Missions Conference at Redeemer PCA in Travelers Rest, SC
• October 11-13...in ATL area, hopefully meeting with a few pastors/elders
  
• October 24...preaching at The Village Church PCA in Huntsville, AL
• November 5-7...MTW Global Missions Conference in Chattanooga, TN
• November ???...Missions Conference at Northgate Presbyterian in Albany, GA

Pray for us as we travel, speak and share our love for the Thai people over the next few months.

Please break our glass...

This is from one of my favorite little coffee shops in the Ramkhamhaeng II area of Bangkok (where we will live) called Cafe Bloom. Next to the couches they have this coffee table with a very polite sign asking us to take care that we break the glass while we're there.

Leadership Bio: Kieow

This is a little Q&A that Kieow and I did over facebook...enjoy and lift her up in prayer!

This is my story:
Where in Thailand are you from? How did you become a Christian?
I'm from the Northeast of Thailand (Ubon Ratchatani province). I became a Christian when I was in college in 2002 through MTW-Thailand team.
At that time, I felt heavily burdened with expectation and acceptance in my heart. I needed to know God and my Savior. I want to know this God who can take away all burdens, so that I will be able to rest in him.

How is God using you in your ministry now?
I have been working on the MTW-Thailand team for 3 years.
Handicraft ministry (Napada) :
I work with the ladies at the handicraft shop. God uses me through my words and deeds. We read the Bible together in the morning before work and every other Wednesday we eat and study the Bible together (full time and part time workers).
This is a good time to share about God's grace and about our lives with each other.
Mercy Ministry:
I usually go visit the families at the Mahathai 3 lower-income community every week to talk and listen to them. I have worked in this community 3 years already.
We have 2 adults who have become Christians and several kids. God uses me to be their friend even though most of them do not believe in Christ yet. Relationships are very important.

What do you want to see God do through you?
Honestly, I want my family and all of my friends to believe in Christ. I want to see God bring more people to himself through the ministry that I work with so they may know him and believe in him as their Savior. I have known some families and women for 3 years already and I share God’s words and love with them, but they do not believe yet.

How can people pray for you?
Please pray that through all circumstances, I may find joy in the Lord, be able to give thanks to Him, and always hope in his promises.
Pray for relationships with families in Mahathai and that God may give me more wisdom and understanding to know how to share his gospel for each person.

Thank you,

Your sister,

Kieow

If any who read this are coming to the Global Missions Conference in Chattanooga, TN (Nov. 5-7), you'll get to meet this dear sister in person.

Bangkok in 10 Minutes.

Pretty decent video...shows the normal hustle and bustle of Bangkok. A highlight is probably at about the 7:40 mark, where a street vendor is shown making the incredibly delicious dessert, roti. I'm getting fatter just thinking about it.

One thing that struck me as I watched it was that I know almost all of those places and have spent significant time walking around them. I probably know Bangkok better than I know Atlanta.

Book Recommendation

The Mortification of Sin by John Owen. I am on a John Owen 'kick' right now...reread this book and a few other Owen classics in the past two weeks and I'm amazed at how practical yet profoundly theological Owen is on this particular subject. I've always loved this book, but I had forgotten how valuable a resource it is for sinners like me.

Also, after having just read Tim Keller's Counterfeit Gods, I think that he must have spent a lot of time reading through Owen at some point in his life, because Owen does a masterful job of describing and dealing with the subject of idolatry. Both are worth picking up TODAY...but if you have to pick one, I'm going with Owen. You can get this one cheap at Amazon.com, which is where I got the pic.

Our Great High Priest

I'm writing a paper on the English Puritan John Owen and his view of indwelling sin in the lives of believers. In his great (and vast) commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, I came across this quote from his comment on Hebrews 4:16.

“He is deeply concerned in all our infirmities, sorrows and sufferings. This is attended with an inclination and propensity to relieve us, according to the rule, measure, and tenor of the covenant; and herewithal, during the time of our trials, he hath a real motion of affections in his holy nature, which he received or took on him for that very end and purpose.”

Jesus, our Great High Priest, is concerned about us in our weaknesses and does not leave us alone, but has sent His Spirit to all of His own.

Holding the Rope

How Can I ‘hold the rope’?

Or, in other words, how can I support a missionary? A little background for some who might not be familiar with the process and concept...support raising is the way that missionaries go overseas, sometimes the denomination does it and sometimes the missionary does it. Like a pastor in the US, most missionaries must rely on the financial support of fellow believers to take the Gospel to the unreached.

Here are some practical ways that you (yes...I mean you) can ‘hold the rope’:
Students: personally, when I was a college student, one of the most meaningful things that I did was to commit to support a missionary. I decided that I could shave $35 per month from my personal budget and give to missions...and it taught me that no one, if they are careful and intentional, is unable to partner financially with a missionary. $35 may not be doable for every student, but consider putting aside $5 per week to give to missions...which could translate into one less trip to the coffee shop.
Singles and Couples: Consider foregoing one nice dinner out per month and doing something at home instead to be able to give $50-$75 (or more) to send us to Bangkok. Some great cheap date-replacements are picnics, pizza and a movie at home, board games and puzzles, reading your favorite books aloud to one another or taking a long walk together.
Everyone: if you are connected to a church, consider being an advocate for us as we seek for partner churches. One friend of ours simply talked to his pastor and gave him our information. After sending a letter to this pastor, we are most likely going to attend and share at that church’s missions conference. This is a great way to find financial and prayer partners.

What?

This sign was right above the toilets in a cabin in the national park of Khao Yai, Thailand. I'm not really sure what the man is doing...but maybe he wants me to push some water.

Leadership Bio: Namfon (Water Rain)

Namfon (pronounced nom fone) is the beutiful name of a beautiful sister who is on the leadership staff of New City Fellowship Church in Thailand. She and I got to be pretty close friends two summers ago and I aprpeciate the encouragement her story is to me. Here are some of her words about what she is doing for the Kingdom now:

"So I would like to share about me and want to people pray for us and my ministry to work with God and how to follow serve God's .

God using me about Campus ministry now so I like and excited when God will show me to talk a gospel with the student around on campus . One thing I can't use the hard words with you my english still poor. But I will try to explain. Now I would like to you praying for the guys their came and spend time with me a lot and their have a good heart to help people. I taught them to know life of Christian Why we love and serve of people. I let them help work to be Volunteer and their love to work and help with me such to go Mahattai and work with Word Made Flesh.
sorry I like to talk more but now I have to go campus. and I will be back to talk again not done. I love you guy bye
namfon"

Her ministry role with the church is with the college ministry, which she was very involved in helping to start two summers ago when we were there. Namfon was not on staff at the time and her English was still at a beginner level though she was improving very quickly! She came to find our team of Americans almost every day to serve on campus with us, and I even remember her being on campus playing batmittin before we arrived from our afternoon break. And what shocked me was that she was so devoted to loving college students and sharing the gospel with them when she wasn't even on staff! She didn't get paid anything to be our translator for hours; it was all volunteer.

The first time we got a chance to talk in a small group (just namfon and a couple girls from our American team), she shared her testimony with us! It was all in broken English but her love for the Lord and giftedness in evangelism shone through.

Please pray for this lovely sister who sacrifices her time and energy for the sake of saving some... and let her live be both an encouragement and a challege to you as it has been to me.

How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice

I've listened to this sermon many, many times.

I'm prone to getting 'off-message' in my life. Little things (money, school, grades, work, football, etc.) often fight their way to the front of my mind and heart, and the Big Thing (the Kingdom) becomes peripheral. God regularly uses the sermons of John Piper, a Baptist pastor up in Minnesota, to re-focus me.

The Holiness of God

I love the fact that I can download sermons from GREAT preachers and listen to them whenever I want. This ability has been and, I'm sure, will be a life saver and a great encouragement whenever Kiki and I move to Thailand.

Here's a recent sermon from one of my professors here at RTS Jackson, Derek Thomas (just click his name for the sermon).

I wish I could say I went to school here...

Actually, I wish I could just say it.

Calvin's Call to Missions

Many people are surprised when I tell them that reading Calvin is some of the sweetest, most devotional stuff that I read in seminary...most of those people have never read Calvin and/or have a distorted view of who Calvin was in the first place. I absolutely LOVE John Calvin's writings, and to tell you the truth, wouldn't mind if seminary consisted of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic bible study, English bible study, and a study of The Institutes of the Christian Religion. But...its probably a good thing that I'm not the one who sets seminary curriculum.

Anyway, I read this passage a while back, and even though it isn't explicitly about world missions, it is its foundation; in fact, it is the foundation for all of Christian life. Calvin writes in Book III, ch. 18.6, 'On "treasures in heaven"',

"If what Christ says is true--"Where our treasure is, there resides our heart" [Matt. 6:21]...believers ought to see to it that, after they have learned that this life will soon vanish like a dream, they transfer the things they want truly to enjoy to a place where they will have life unceasing. We ought, then, to imitate what people do who determine to migrate to another place, where they have chosen a lasting abode. They send before them all their resources and do not grieve over lacking them for a time, for they deem themselves the happier the more goods they have where they will be for a long time. But if we believe heaven is our country, it is better to transmit our possessions thither than to keep them here where upon our sudden migration they would be lost to us."
The Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 827

I pray that we (especially me!), as believers, can believe this...the truth that is at the center of all of Scripture: our King is bringing a kingdom that cannot be shaken! Therefore, for the believer, until the King appears, life is about establishing His kingdom through our time, money and prayers.

Takraw...I can watch, I can't play.

Thai Language

Many people have asked us about the language in Thailand...which many seem to think is Taiwanese, which I guess is understandable. But most people just want to know how hard it is. Not very...its not Japanese or Mandarin, but its challenging. Here's a little video about the language. Its actually kind of boring, so just the first minute will give you a good idea of what we'll be learning:

Hold the Rope: August

August Newsletter

Songkran Festival...

Want to know how laid back and fun loving Thai people are? In April, everybody in Thailand has a week-long water fight...so beware if you want to stay dry while visiting Thailand in April (actually, I'm not sure staying dry is possible in Thailand). Here's a little taste:

Thai Pizza...

Here is our dear friend Naamfon eating at The Pizza Company with us. Thais seem to really like pizza, judging from the number of Pizza Company or Pizza Hut restaurants in Bangkok, but the common Thai way of eating it is to douse it with ketchup...hmmm.

Seminary as it should be?

Sorry for the length of this, but its worth the time. Richard Pratt, an adjunct professor at RTS and the founder and director of Third Millennium Ministries (http://thirdmill.org/), wrote this about seminary training as it is today:

"If I were king and could wave my magical scepter, I would radically change the basic agenda of seminary.

After 22 years of teaching in a seminary, I slowly began to realize something. We were not preparing the kinds of leaders that evangelical churches in North America need. Let’s face it; evangelicalism has seen better days. God is at work in many places and in many ways, but on the whole, the news is not good. Our numbers are dwindling; our theology is unraveling; our zeal for Christ is dissipating. Now more than ever, we need seminaries to give the church leaders who are empowered by the Spirit for radical, sacrificial devotion to Christ and his kingdom. And they’d better do it quickly.

I was recently in China, talking with the president of a house church network of more than 1 million people. He asked me for advice on preparing the next generation of pastors. I looked at him and said, “The only thing I know is what you should not do.” He smiled and asked, “What’s that?” My reply surprised him. “You should not do what we have done in the West. The results of that approach have become clear.”

The agenda of evangelical seminaries is set primarily by scholars. Professors decide how students will spend their time; they determine students’ priorities; they set the pace. And guess what. Scholars’ agenda seldom match the needs of the church.

Can you imagine what kind of soldiers our nation would have if basic training amounted to reading books, listening to lectures, writing papers, and taking exams? We’d have dead soldiers. The first time a bullet wizzed past their heads on the battlefield, they’d panic. The first explosion they saw would send them running. So, what is basic training for the military? Recruits learn the information they need to know, but this is a relatively small part of their preparation. Most of basic training is devoted to supervised battle simulation. Recruits are put through harrowing emotional and physical stress. They crawl under live bullet fire. They practice hand to hand combat.

If I could wave a magic scepter and change seminary today, I’d turn it into a grueling physical and spiritual experience. I’d find ways to reach academic goals more quickly and effectively and then devote most of the curriculum to supervised battle simulation. I’d put students through endless hours of hands-on service to the sick and dying, physically dangerous evangelism, frequent preaching and teaching the Scriptures, and days on end of fasting and prayer. Seminary would either make them or break them.

Do you know what would happen? Very few young men would want to attend. Only those who had been called by God would subject themselves to this kind of seminary. Yet they would be recruits for kingdom service, not mere students. They would be ready for the battle of gospel ministry."

Interesting, huh?

Cosmic Restoration Coming...

Sorry for the long quote, but I love this book (The Resurrection of the Son of God by NT Wright) and as I'm finishing up a paper on Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21, I've been so amazed by the promise of universal, bodily, earthly restoration that God promises to His people. We will not float around as mere spirits in some sort of ethereal paradise, but God will come here to establish His Kingdom on the Earth. This coming (or appearing) of God on the Earth means universal restoration of the pre-fall (the "fall" as in Genesis 3) creation. No more pain and suffering, no more injustice, and no more separation from God in any way for all who trust Him.

NT Wright, who I agree with on this issue (though I think he's wrong on the issue of justification), writes about how the incarnation, life, death and, especially, the resurrection of Jesus opened the door for this type of universal cosmic restoration that is to come:

"The historical question is further sharpened by what happened to the portrait of 'Messiah' in early Christianity. Despite what scholars have often said, it was not abandoned, but nor was it simply adopted wholesale from existing Jewish models. It was transformed, redrawn, around Jesus himself. The early Christians maintained, on the one hand, the basic shape of Jewish messianic belief. They reaffirmed its biblical roots in the Psalms, the prophets and the biblical royal narratives; they developed it in biblical ways (such as the belief that Israel's Messiah was the world's true lord;...). At the same time, on the other hand, they quickly allowed this belief to be transformed in four ways. It lost its ethnic specificity: the Messiah did not belong only to the Jews. The 'messianic battle' changed its character: the Messiah would not fight a military campaign, but would confront evil itself. The rebuilt Temple would not be a bricks-and-mortar construction in Jerusalem, but the community of Jesus' followers. The justice, peace and salvation which the Messiah would bring to the world would not be a Jewish version of the imperial dream of Rome, but would be God's dikaiosune [righteousness], God's eirene [peace], God's soteria [salvation], poured out upon the world through the renewal of the whole creation." NT Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, p. 563

Holdin' the Rope

Here's a way to think about partnering with us...simply adopt one of these little boxes. I really wanted to have different Thai emblems (like elephants, sticky rice, mangos, etc.) represent the different amounts because its just funnier to ask people to "adopt a mango", but I'm not that technologically savvy. The Thais also have boxes, though, so one could make the argument that we're asking you to adopt specifically Thai boxes, not just generic ones.

So, check it out. The "X"s represent boxes that have already been adopted...

Remaining Support Graphic

Nothing to do with Thailand...

well, except that there are Tigers in parts of Thailand. I'm just fascinated with them and really liked this video.

Leadership Bio: Pat

This is one of my favorite pics from my time in Thailand in 2009. I'm not sure that Kiki really likes these kinds of photos, but my dream is that one day I'll have a large missionary family who will all do poses like this for Christmas cards to send back to the U.S.

Anyway...the Thai man in this picture is a young man named Pattarachai Moongkolkoolpongsal, or "Pat" for short. He came to Bangkok from the Northern part of Thailand and is an Ahka, which is a sub-group of Thai people. He is currently studying at Bangkok Bible Seminary and interning at New City Fellowship (the MTW church plant) with the hope that he will take over as pastor whenever he graduates from seminary. A gifted preacher and a gentle and wise-beyond-his-years man of God, Pat will hopefully be my long-term partner in planting churches and training pastors in the greater Bangkok area.

Pray for Pat as he finishes seminary while preaching, sharing the gospel, and leading University Christian Fellowship at Ramkhamhaeng University in the Bangna area near our church. Pray that he would be constantly refreshed by the Holy Spirit and pray that God will continue to give him a desire to plant churches and disciple men in the Bangkok area for years to come.

Toilets in Pain

We're pretty much easing into this support-raising thing until now...and we're about to begin sending out letters. We've got a few things in the works that may put our pledged support over 10%...but until we have a little more to post, I thought I'd add a shot or two every now and again from our favorite international pastime: finding and photographing weird/funny signs.

I'm here at B&N with our future teammate, Lisa. We are discussing support raising and the joys of discovering how hard it is to network with so many people! It is one of those fun share the joys and challenges with a Christian sister.

best two weeks of the year...

The next two weeks are some of my favorite of the year at Belhaven. I love the chance to spend two weeks investing in the RA's on my team as individuals and building a team together. However, this year is the last year I get to have a team of RA's... They will be special as all teams are but they will also be special as my last team. I hope that I will never stop using the team building and discipleship gifts God has given me, but it is hard to imagine a better job than the one I have right now! What a blessing to love one's job...

SO, the blog is probably going to be updated by Trey till about the end of August bc I will be loving the business of my job too much to be writing on here very often. ;-)

These are pictures from last year's team... Sorry Lydia, I had a hard time finding a pic with your eyes open...

I HATE change!

So, today is really sad for me. Several of my classmates are done after today and we will never be a whole class again. The past two years have been an awesome time of individual growth for us all and the bonds are strong. We have had to work as a team and support one another in all the challenges and those of you who know me well, know that I flourish in a strong team environment.

So, thank you to my classmates for being such a wonderful part of my life. I hope we can have a reunion in Thailand someday!

That Great City

One of my favorite books in the whole bible is Jonah; not because of some fascination with a man being swallowed by a giant fish. The account of Jonah fascinates me because of the message of God's love for the world, His mercy and grace towards sinners, and the missional aspect of this book.

Jonah, knows that God is a God of grace and mercy (4:1). Because he doesn't want the violent and oppressive people of Nineveh, enemies of Israel, to experience this grace, he directly disobeys the command of God to go to Nineveh and preach against that city. The book is mostly about a prophet who disobeys God, and it ends with the prophet as the 'bad guy' and God Himself is the 'good guy'. Jonah wants the benefits of living under God's grace to remain with Israel, and cannot stomach the possibility that God might show grace to a very brutal and ruthless enemy, an enemy who could possibly obliterate Israel. Jonah basically tells God, "I told you so!" when the whole city of Nineveh repents, then goes outside the city to watch and see what will happen (obviously hoping that God will destroy the city). In the climax of the entire book, God reprimands Jonah for his persisting callousness and short-sightedness. The book closes when God says, "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left [i.e., 'right from wrong'], and also so much cattle?"

The point is simply that God says, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." (Ex. 33:19; Romans 9:15). We serve a God who is the Covenant Lord of the Universe. Salvation is the grace of God, not deserved by the religious, the good, or the chosen. Missions is the right response to that grace...driven by the fact that no one deserves it, but that God Himself will save...even if He uses sinful people to proclaim the message.

July Newsletter

July Newsletter

Idols of the Heart

Something I read this morning:

"The things that the Lord has apportioned among the nations must not be worshiped. Essential to the idea of idolatry is the desire for more things. The things that God has made must never be substituted for the God who made them. The connection between covetousness and idolatry is made explicitly when the new covenant scriptures speak of "greed, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5). The identification of covetousness with idolatry serves to expose the central sin of the present age, which is the worship of things rather than the God who made them. The shopping mall has become the temple of today, and the consumption of more and more things has become god. This turning to things as a substitute for knowing, loving, and serving God is the central sin of mankind in every generation. So it should not be surprising to find the prohibition against all forms of idolatry as the central focus of the law of God."

O. Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Prophets, p. 87

A true idol of my heart....as is obvious.------------>

hobbies...

So I finished my last real class on Friday and have been enjoying two days of freedom from deadlines and grades! And my mind has turned to all the things I have not been doing for the last two years....

I am definitely starting a new hobby. Photography. I have been learning a lot about it for the last few years, but I am really starting to get excited about it. I have a lot more to learn especially about post processing with photo editing tools.

There are a few things that I really want to learn. I reached my peak with knitting and don't want to learn more than I know. And photography has lasted a while so I am getting serious about the equipment etc. But I would also love to learn how to play the piano and paint. I think the piano might be a stretch considering my formidable lack of musical instict, but it can't hurt to try. Oh, and learning how to salsa has been on the list for a while.

Trey suggested that I write a few best sellers in the next year so that we don't have to raise support and can just live off sales. I'm considering it. I think I would write fiction, and it would probably be completely unimaginative... oh well, guess we will still be raising support.

A note on Church History...

"What does this have to do with Thailand?", is the response that I imagine any of the 4 people that read this blog may have. But hang with me...it matters. I'm working through Dr. Frank James' History of Christianity lectures (which can be downloaded for FREE on itunes and are completely worth your while) this summer and realizing the importance of learning one's lessons.

Men much more able than I (like Tertullian, Origen, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Polycarp, Anselm, Aquinas, and countless others) have made BIG mistakes. They said, wrote or did things that make us cringe and which were obviously sinful or just plain dumb...and they were bishops and Church Fathers...men with vast influence on the early church and subsequent doctrine and Church growth. However, as I read and listen and think through the lives, triumphs, and failures of these men, I have to rejoice in the fact that God used these men. God used men who were sinful and mistaken and prideful and undeserving...the bottom line is that God uses sinners and that He is still God. Absolute and uncompromising sovereignty that will bring to completion His own plans, resulting in His ultimate glory and our ultimate good.

So...back to Thailand. I can't match any of these men in intellectual ability or devotion to Christ. I can't match them in ministry credentials or educational pedigree. But, just as in the lives of these great men (who again...often got it wrong), God will use Kiki and I in Bangkok in spite of ourselves. All of this comes together to make me more humble (I have to realize that I don't always have the whole picture...God will move in ways that I am not always comfortable with, theologically), more gracious (men more able than I have made BIG mistakes), and more dependent on Him (this is His work, His Church, His mission...not mine...and He will bring results in His time).

Thailand Timeline

Many have asked us about our time-line for getting back to Thailand, which leads me to believe I haven’t clearly communicated it (imagine that!). So....I wanted to put this down and give you all a little clearer picture of what our next year looks like:

So I turned 29 yesterday and had home-made guacamole for a birthday cake. I wish I had a picture of it, but I forgot my camera for the whole week of being in Alt. Forgetting one's camera is a cardinal sin and I have repented... So, anyway, this is the age that everyone says they are when they lie about their age.... I think I'll like this year, but I don't know if I will like it enough to not want to try the next years too.
This is my last real week of academics (until language school in Thailand). I have two big projects to finish and present and then I don't have any more academic deadlines. I will have 3,000 pages to read and another 10 page paper, but I can do it on my own time. I like reading and 10 pages seems like nothing at this point in the game! So!!!! I willl soon be grade-free! Who wants to have a number represent how much they learned? That is why I love being in clinic--it is experiential learning. BTW, I love what I am doing. Praise be to God who designed me for this kind of work.

Support Update

Every week or two, we'll post our support level here on the blog. Right now, we're at about 3% of our monthly support needs. We've just met with a church and we've got some more lined up already. Pray with and for us as we look for people to partner with us as we get prepared to leave for Bangkok.