www.engagemagazine.com for Monday, April 24, 2017 Issue #120
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Giving our best by Gina Grate PottengerIn Lebanon, it is not common for people to purchase second-hand items as a cost-savings method for acquiring new-to-you clothes, shoes, furniture or household items. People want the things they own to be new, one local friend told me. Thus, it’s hard to find second-hand or charity shops there.So, it's ground-breaking in this culture that the Beirut Church of the Nazarene has opened a second-hand store that sells clothing, shoes, bags for just a few dollars each. The purpose is to meet the needs of the huge influx of destitute refugees into the country from Syria and Iraq. Lebanon reported a population of 4.5 million prior to the refugees' arrival, and the United Nations estimates that, by now, 1 million refugees live there. A conservative estimate is that 1 in every 5 people in Lebanon is a refugee. Many believe it is more. Thus, affordable clothing and household goods is a very real need.
Karibe opened in 2014, in space shared rent-free to the church by a Catholic Abbey, whose leaders believe in the project. “Karibe” means, “My Neighbor,” a reference to Jesus’ story about the Good Samaritan, which he told in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” For the Church of the Nazarene in Beirut, “neighbor” isn’t just a symbolic term, but a literal one, as the church’s neighborhood has filled up with refugees in the past six years.In February I had the chance to visit the Karibe store and warehouse to see this ministry in action. The shop gives the church members who work there a way to meet and further support people who desperately need material assistance, such as the large food packages the church also distributes to people who have registered for help.
When we went down to the storage rooms the abbey had also made available for this work, the church leaders showed me large boxes filled with the remaining donated clothes, toys, belts, bags, shoes and more, that are waiting to be put out on the shop shelves.As I wandered through the room shooting pictures of the items waiting to be displayed upstairs in the shop, I noticed a corduroy jacket with very visible stains on the light-colored material. I pointed this out to the volunteers.
They said, "Yes, in fact about 20 percent of what we receive in the shipments is not fit to be sold to our clients. The items are damaged, stained or not in good condition."
"Twenty percent?" I repeated, disbelieving. One of the women showed me a pair of shoes of which the leather exterior was peeling horribly.
"Yes. And it cost $5,000 to get the shipment through customs. And yet, we cannot use up to 20 percent of it, maybe more," I was told.
A standard practice is for donors to send the funds needed to clear the containers through the receiving nation's customs. Lebanon's process for containers like this costs $5,000. In one case, the donor only sent $1,000, so the church needed to come up with the rest.
Although I had not personally participated in the donations of these items, I felt embarrassed. I imagine that further back in the past I have probably donated items I would not be proud to find in these boxes today. (Is it any different from those times when I cleaned out food from my cupboards that I didn't want, like canned peas and kidney beans, and put them in the food drive box at church mainly as a way to just get rid of them? I didn't spend time thinking about who would receive them and if they'd want to eat them anymore than I did.)Looking at the shoes and the stained jacket, I tried to assume the best. Perhaps there was a mistake somewhere in collecting these items, or those who packed up the shipments didn't have time to carefully sort through the items before sending them on. I was relieved to hear that the items were not sent by Nazarenes. But I thought about the $5,000 required to get the clothes out of customs, and how much of that money was essentially wasted on worthless clothing.
What message might it communicate if we send ripped, stained or damaged clothes and other goods to people in need? Do we unintentionally denigrate their dignity and value as fellow human beings? On the other hand, what message would it communicate if we sent new, clean and beautiful items as gifts to fellow human beings in need? How would that make them feel?
In the Old Testament, specifically Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus, God laid down many laws for his people that clearly illustrate his high standards. When God asked his people for sacrifices, he expected them to give every firstborn animal of their livestock, as well as the first fruits of all their harvests. Every animal sacrifice thereafter should be without blemish. It should be healthy, whole, and perfect. God didn't want their cast offs -- animals or crops that they would be happy to get rid of while keeping the best for themselves. He gave them his best and he wanted them to give their best in return. Centuries later, he gave all of us his best: his Son. After that, God gave us himself in the Holy Spirit.We follow this same standard when we give away items we ourselves would be proud to wear, or use, or decorate with. A rule I've heard for donating tangible items is: If YOU wouldn't use it, don't donate it.
Thanks to the many nice items that have been donated, the church in Beirut has a large shop space bursting with very good, gently used clothing, shoes and toys for adults and children. I even saw a beautiful wedding dress. Through this ministry they are making face-to-face contact with people at a painful place in life, and starting to establish relationships that hopefully will become a life-transforming journey together in the hard road of life. Some will come to know Jesus personally and join a supporting, loving church family. In fact, thanks to the loving kindness of Nazarenes in Beirut, a whole new church has been planted. Its attendees are all refugees, led by a pastor who is also a refugee.
This is what comes when a church gives its best to its community.
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International Myanmar church planting leads to expanded theological education by Michelle McLane and Gina Pottenger
Khunjar’s mother always wanted her daughter to go into Christian ministry. But her mother died before she could see her dream come true.Khunjar (right in photo) had been preparing for full-time ministry. She had graduated from a Bible college and a discipleship training program in her home town in the Shan State, Myanmar. But then, three years ago, Khunjar and her family immigrated to Bangkok, Thailand, to look for work.
“My mom always prayed for me,” Khunjar said. “She always encouraged me to stop working and work for ministry.”
Then, in 2015, her mom died in a car accident. Khunjar was helpless to deal with this case in a foreign land.
Bill and Mill Kwon, who are Nazarene leaders in Thailand, came to know her during this hard time in her life. Khunjar began assisting in the Kwons’ ministries by translating for and connecting them to other Myanmar migrant workers in the Bangkok area. During six months of their ministry, four house churches were born.
In this period, Khunjar realized the calling of the Lord.
“When my mom passed away, God reminded me of her prayer,” she said. “It is not by chance to be involved in this ministry in Thailand, but the leading of the Lord.”
On January 2016, Khunjar received her first Nazarene minister’s district license from the Myanmar District and transferred her license to the Thailand District. A district license is a recognition from the Nazarene district’s leadership that a person is following God’s call by serving in pastoral ministry.
Her house church has grown, and to gain more space it rented a three-story building in Bangchalong area. In walking distance, there are thousands of Myanmar migrant workers and their families. Pastor Khunjar and her church have a passion to reach the non-Christian population in Bangkok. The church now opens nursery and kindergarten for the Myanmar children.
Throughout Thailand, where the Kwons are based, the Myanmar church is exploding with the same church multiplication that follows the spread of Myanmar Christians around the world. As the Kwons became associated with the Myanmar immigrants in Thailand, they discovered that Myanmar immigrants are also planting churches in Singapore, across Asia and now in the West.
Myanmar’s population is nearly 90 percent Buddhist; just 6 percent identify as Christian. Yet, because of the work of Christian missionaries who first came to Myanmar’s Chin state in the 1800s, today the majority of the Chin people, an ethnic minority group, are Christian.They have paid a price for their belief. The BBC and Human Rights Watch report that the Chin are Myanmar’s most persecuted people group.
“The major reasons for their diasporic movement is: 1. Economic, 2. Safety, 3. Religious freedom,” said Bill, who also serves as the superintendent of the Myanmar District.
When Christians leave Myanmar for economic or other reasons, they often choose new homes where they can safely practice their faith.
“Wherever they go they naturally start churches because that’s part of their life,” said Ray McCrary, pastor of a Nazarene church in south Indianapolis, where more than 15,000 Chin immigrants live. His American congregation is partnering with a local Myanmar Chin church, and he meets weekly for discipleship with its pastor, who came to the United States as a refugee (read the story).“Just as the early Christians were dispersed from Jerusalem, it became natural to start churches and reach out to their friends,” McCrary added.
The Nazarene church in Myanmar itself has declared a new mission: “Reaching Myanmar People for Christ in the NATIONS,” wherever they might be, Bill said.
In response to this clear church planting movement, the Southeast Asia Nazarene Bible College (SEANBC) started a Myanmar course of study in Bangkok with 28 students registered.
Bill opened an SEANBC extension center in Khunjar’s church, which trains Myanmar migrant workers as disciples. Currently there are eight Myanmar migrant workers who received a district license from the Thailand District.
The Nazarene theological course of study, which prepares ministers around the world for ordination, has been translated into Burmese, one of four majority languages of Myanmar, and there are plans for electronic courses of study through SEANBC to reach Chin and other Myanmar ethnic ministers in training around the world, including the United States.In addition the Chin congregation that is sharing space and fellowship with Southside Church of the Nazarene in Indianapolis, several other Nazarene churches in the U.S. are becoming aware of local congregations of Myanmar immigrants and seeking ways to support them.
Pastor Steve Rhoades, of The Point Church of the Nazarene in Greenwood, outside of Indianapolis, Indiana, discovered the concentration of Myanmar immigrants in his community and has sought them out.
In some cases, there were churches in his community with as many as 70 people meeting in homes for worship. The Point offered its building to them and arranged a plot for gardening, one of the activities that Chin people enjoy and excel at. They also recognized their accomplished music skills through listening to their worship services.
Rhoades has also helped to network local Nazarene churches with Myanmar Nazarene groups in Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Georgia and Colorado. Several Myanmar congregations in other states are in discussion with local Nazarene leaders about joining the denomination, he said.Established Nazarenes have the opportunity to help connect diaspora communities and assist them in starting churches. As ethnic groups gather together in churches, they are able to share their joys and struggles and encourage one another.
“The opportunities are great,” Bill said. “People are responding, people are opening their homes for prayer. This opportunity is hard to find in their motherland. Diaspora is a great opportunity for gospel. We need to both reach unreached Myanmar communities in Thailand, and train migrant Christian workers as disciples to reach their own people in Thailand.”Read More
Diaspora of believers from Myanmar leads to cross-cultural church partnershipsBy Michelle McLane and Gina Pottenger
Seeds of the gospel were planted by the first American Christian missionary to Myanmar’s ethnic minority Chin people in the 1800s. Those seeds are bearing fruit in major U.S. cities, Thailand and around the world.
Although they are a small ethnic group in Myanmar (formerly called Burma), a diaspora of hundreds of thousands of Chin people are spreading across Asia and now the West. Those among them who are Christians are planting churches wherever they go.Up to 170,000 Chin people have immigrated to the United States. One of those people, Zozum, pastor of a Chin church in Indianapolis, started his journey like many do: as a refugee.
In 1994, Zozum went to New Delhi to study the Bible. Delhi was a center of political activism. By going there Zozum was at risk of being perceived as connected with a rebel movement. But his sense of ministry calling was strong.
Since 1989 when Zozum had become a Christian on what he thought would be his deathbed, he wrestled with God about his calling to become a pastor. Although he grew up in a Christian home, Zozum had frequently been in poor health. Thus, his path to education as a pastor was difficult. It was made more so when, still in Dehli, he received a phone call from his brother warning him that he could not come back to Myanmar. Zozum was suspected by the Myanmar government of being a dangerous rebel.
He applied as a refugee under UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and after 15 years was granted entry to the United States.
Zozum resettled in Indianapolis, where as many as 15,000 people from Myanmar now live. There, he became leader of a Chin congregation, the Matu Bethlehem Christian Fellowship. While the people were dedicated to meeting, it was difficult to find an appropriate space for worship. Zozum heard about The Point Church of the Nazarene in Greenwood, and went to meet with its pastor, Steve Rhoades.
Zozum and Rhoades spoke for several hours. Rhoades was happy to offer his building, but Zozum felt it would be difficult for his congregation to find transportation the 25 minutes’ distance from where most of his church members lived. The next day, Rhoades took him to meet with Ray McCrary, pastor of Indianapolis Southside Church of the Nazarene, and Ron Blake, the Indianapolis district superintendent. They discussed whether his congregation could worship at Indianapolis Southside Church of the Nazarene, which is located right in the midst of the Chin immigrant population in Indianapolis.
McCrary wanted to make sure the congregations shared similar doctrines.
“[Zozum] said, ‘I’m sitting here today because the Church of the Nazarene really intrigues me. I’ve been studying about the doctrine and it attracts me, and I would like to know more about the church.”
The two pastors entered into a mentoring relationship. They read several books together about holiness, a signature emphasis of the Nazarene denomination, and have continued to meet each week for discipleship and encouraging one another.
The Matu Bethlehem church and the Southside Nazarene church now share one building. By having a place that does not limit their numbers, the Matu Bethlehem congregation has grown to 125 in average attendance for its Sunday afternoon services.
Although they are separate congregations within one building, the two groups are gradually partnering in different ways. The children from both churches meet together for Sunday school, and recently the two youth groups merged, as well. The congregations occasionally join for baptisms, potlucks and other social activities.“God is bringing the mission field to us,” McCrary said. “It has been a journey (for the Southside congregation). In years past, this area has been a very white, English-speaking population. It’s no longer that. We have the choice of just shriveling up and dying, or ministering to the people who are here.”
Right now the two congregations continue to worship separately due to language and worship-style differences. But pastors Zozum and McCrary dream of eventually merging the congregations for morning worship. They continue gently working to help them all catch the same vision.
McCrary said of Zozum’s flock, “They’ve been very slow in integrating because they feel their lack of understanding of the culture, so they stay within their group. Because of their oppression, they are maybe a little suspicious of other people. It’s a process.”
To minister to the needs of recent Chin immigrants, Southside has opened its space during the week for English language, life skills and cultural adaptation classes provided by the Warren Township School System. The idea was suggested by one of the Chin people.
“My people need training in basic life skills,” the man had told McCrary. “These people will not be going back to Myanmar except to visit their family. They are going to have to integrate into the American culture.”McCrary also began a discipleship class together with Zozum to provide spiritual training for some from Matu Bethlehem.
The churches’ relationship is not just practical, but has been an expression of love for both congregations.
“Once in a month we have a fellowship with the American church members and Matu church together,” said Nissa, a member of the Matu congregation. “They bring food and we also bring food, and we have some meeting and fellowship. We sing songs and pray and preach, and then after that we are eating together. We all enjoy it.
“These English-speaking people are very friendly,” she added. “Really they love us and show their love [by sharing] whatever we need.”Read More
'Are you willing to be healed?'by Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Lanka
Mary, a staff member of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Lanka (NCML), makes her own lunch every day before heading out to work. But she rarely gets to eat it.
In her job as the local leader for compassionate ministry to laborers and their families in the Sri Lankan tea gardens of Pattana, Dimbulla and Ragala, she visits many people in their homes. Often she finds that the parents are unable to feed their children. So she opens the lunch she planned for herself and distributes it among the hungry little ones.
Mary knows how difficult life can be in the tea gardens of Sri Lanka. She grew up in one. Her father works as a laborer in a tea garden, nevertheless earning very little for his family. Mary joined NCML to support her father. But eventually, she realized that it was actually to fulfill her heavenly Father’s will that she joined NCML, more than simply helping her family.
Mary is one of NCML’s longest serving staff members, having given the last seven years to serving families whose children are enrolled in NCM’s local child-focused community development program (CFCDP). Mary is very kind, compassionate, and certainly carries the burden of wiping the tears away from hungry children. One of her most beloved jobs was visiting families because she felt that she could listen to the cries of those in the most neglected communities and lift them up in prayer – praying for them several hours a day. Mary’s ministry with NCML has touched hundreds of children in the tea gardens of Pattana, Dimbulla, and Ragala.
Six months ago,
while Mary was on her regular visits to her CFCDP children, she walked into a home that was hardly visited by anyone. There was a strong smell that kept people away, isolating this family from the other residents of the village. Mary was curious to know the cause of the smell that pushed the neighbors away. She was very adamant that she would not leave the home that day without knowing the reason. The parents of the home had no choice but to tell the truth: Manoj*, their son, 12, had developed a rash all over his body. The community believed that it was the early stages of leprosy.The parents took him to many doctors and spent all the money they had, but it appeared that he was far from being healed. People feared the disease spreading, so Manoj’s school made the decision to expel him. Soon his friends stopped talking and playing with him. Since then, Manoj has been confined to one room for the last four months.
“Tears came pouring down my face when I heard Manoj’s story,” Mary said. Mary was very certain that Jesus could heal him. She thought that if Jesus could heal the lepers, then he could heal Manoj.
Mary was Manoj’s first visitor since he contracted this disease. His parents could not believe that someone would come and comfort him. Unafraid, Mary hugged Manoj and asked, “Are you willing to be healed?” Manoj nodded his head in a positive response.
“Jesus can heal you,” said Mary with a warm smile, and she laid her hands on his wounds and prayed for the rest of the day.
Since that day, Mary began visiting Manoj regularly and spent hours praying with him. After some time, they began seeing that Manoj was showing signs of healing. His wounds were losing their strong odor and Manoj was finally able to walk outside of his room. Mary then decided to take the little boy to the local Nazarene group in Pattana. The pastor and teachers welcomed Manoj with open arms. In short time, Manoj started to make new friends and forgot all about being isolated in his room.
Earlier this year, Mary took Manoj back to school. The complete healing of his wounds surprised the school staff and his old friends gradually began talking him to again.
With Mary’s help, Manoj was enrolled in the CFCDP. With great care, the teachers spent extra hours to make sure that Manoj learned the lessons that he had missed. Now he is an active member of the CFCDP; he enjoys the evening program and its education through playing games. Mary continues to minister to Manoj’s family with the help from NCML.
*Name changed for privacy
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Redemptive Analogies by Howard CulbertsonMissionaries Don and Carol Richardson seemed to be making no progress trying to share the gospel with a Stone Age tribe in New Guinea. The discouraged young Canadians felt like giving up and moving to a different place.
Then, one day they watched the Sawi tribal chief make peace with an enemy tribe. To seal the peace pact, the chief gave his infant son to the other tribe. As the Richardsons listened to explanations of that solemn ceremony and its underlying meanings, parallels with the Gospel story jumped out at them. The Sawi needed to see that Jesus was God’s “peace child” who has made possible lasting peace between humanity and its Creator. If the Sawi could wrap their minds around that idea, perhaps a spiritual leap forward would come.
The Richardsons did use that peace-making ceremony to explain the coming of Jesus into the world. The illustration from their own culture opened the eyes and then the hearts of the Sawi. Members of the tribe began accepting Jesus as their Savior and Lord.Don wrote a book about the Sawi spiritual awakening. Titled Peace Child, that book became a best-seller which Don followed up by producing a 30-minute dramatic film (https://youtu.be/UysvnI6DhMA ).
He began referring to the use of the Sawi peace-making ritual as a “redemptive analogy.” He encouraged missionaries around the world to look for cultural rituals, folk beliefs and tribal tales in which could be seen some parallel to crucial elements of the Gospel. As Don Richardson reflected on the “redemptive analogy” concept, he became convinced that cultures everywhere contained starting points for Gospel proclamation. Such thinking, of course, very much reflects the time-honored strategy of using the known to teach the unknown.
The use of redemptive analogies does not reduce Divine Revelation to no more than those cultural parallels. Cultural traditions are not on the same level as inspired Scripture. Christian teachers and preachers simply use them to shine light on God’s unique revelation so it can be truly understood.
Using redemptive analogies is not a mixing of different belief systems any more than Paul mixed religions together when he based a sermon on an altar erected by the people of Athens to the “Unknown God.” The use of redemptive analogies do not mean all religions and ways of thinking have equal value. Rather, using redemptive analogies is simply a way of teaching biblical truth by starting with something familiar to people.
Actually, redemptive analogies are used throughout the Bible. People of Bible times raised domestic animals and were fishermen and farmers. Aren’t references to farming, fishing and the raising of domestic animals used in the Bible to explain divine truth? Jesus Himself used redemptive analogies or parallels, often saying, “The Kingdom of God is like . . .”
Using parallels or analogies from culture as illustrations does not mean we preach a different “gospel” in different cultures. It simply means that some of the most eye-opening and heart-unlocking illustrations may be culture-specific rather than universal.Read More
Analogías Redentoras by Howard Culbertson
Parecía que los misioneros Don y Carol Richardson no estaban logrando progresar al compartir el evangelio con una tribu primitiva de Nueva Guinea. Los jóvenes canadienses sintieron deseos de darse por vencidos y mudarse a otro lugar.
Entonces, un día ellos observaron al jefe de la tribu Sawi hacer las paces con una tribu enemiga. Para cerrar el pacto, el jefe entregó su hijo infante a la otra tribu. Mientras que los Richardson escuchaban la explicación de la ceremonia solemne y su significado implícito, los paralelismos con el evangelio se les hicieron evidentes. Los Sawi necesitaban ver que Jesús era el "hijo de paz" de Dios, quien hizo posible la paz duradera entre la humanidad y su Creador. Si los Sawi podían comprender esa idea, entonces quizás sería posible que ellos dieran el salto espiritual hacia adelante.
Los Richardson utilizaron esa ceremonia de paz para explicar la venida de Jesús al mundo. La ilustración de su propia cultura abrió los ojos y luego los corazones de los Sawi. Los miembros de la tribu comenzaron a aceptar a Jesús como su Salvador y su Señor.Don escribió un libro acerca del despertar espiritual de los Sawi. Titulado "Hijo de Paz", ese libro se convirtió en best-seller y luego Don produjo una película dramática de 30 minutos ( https://youtu.be/UysvnI6DhMA ).
Él comenzó a referirse al uso del ritual de paz de los Sawi como una "analogía redentora". Él animó a misioneros alrededor del mundo a buscar rituales culturales, creencias folclóricas e historias tribales en las que se pudiera encontrar algún paralelismo con elementos cruciales del evangelio. Mientras que Don Richardson reflexionaba acerca del concepto de "analogía redentora", él se convenció de que todas las culturas tienen puntos de conexión para la proclamación del evangelio. Este tipo de pensamiento, por supuesto, refleja la antigua estrategia de utilizar lo conocido para explicar lo desconocido.
El uso de analogías redentoras no reduce la Revelación Divina a un simple paralelismo cultural. Las tradiciones culturales no se encuentran en el mismo nivel que la escritura inspirada. Los maestros y predicadores cristianos simplemente las utilizan para echar luz sobre la revelación de Dios para que ésta pueda ser comprendida.
El uso de analogías redentoras no consiste en la mezcla de diferentes sistemas de creencias, sino que es lo mismo que Pablo hizo cuando basó un sermón en referencia a un altar erguido por los habitantes de Atenas para el "Dios Desconocido". El uso de analogías redentoras no implica que todas las religiones y modos de pensar tienen igual valor. El uso de analogías redentoras es simplemente una manera de enseñar verdades bíblicas utilizando un elemento familiar como punto de inicio.
De hecho, las analogías redentoras son utilizadas a través de toda la Biblia. Muchas personas de los tiempos bíblicos criaban animales y eran pescadores y granjeros. ¿No es cierto que en la Biblia se utilizan varias referencias a las actividades ganaderas, la pesca y la crianza de animales domésticos para explicar verdades divinas? El mismo Jesús utilizó analogías redentoras o paralelismos, diciendo a menudo, "El Reino de Dios es como... "
El uso de paralelismos o analogías culturales como ilustraciones no significa que predicamos un evangelio diferente en diferentes culturas. Simplemente significa que algunas de las ilustraciones más reveladoras y que ablandan nuestros corazones pueden resultar de una cultura específica en vez de ser universales.Leer más
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