A Fishy Story

The atmosphere was heavy with heat and excitement as the disciples were on two boats, helping the local fishermen to pull in their nets. It was Abba Ah Beng’s new spiritual formation project to get his disciples involved with the local communities in the villages surrounding Sow-Lin Monastery. Whether the local communities wanted to be ‘involved with’ is another matter. It was late afternoon and the reflection of sunlight on the surface of the sea was dazzling.

“Watch it!” shouted disciple Ah Lek as he avoided the elbow of disciple Ah Kow which was on a collision course with his nose. “Ouch!” yelled exchange disciple Iskandar from the Middle East as the netting rope burned his fingers. This is the first time disciple Iskander was on a boat. The land he came from was mostly desert. “There must be a lot of fish in the net. It is so heavy,” panted another exchange disciple Muthu who was more skilled in fishing as he slowly pulled the net into boat. “Jiayou! Jiayou!” cheered disciple Ah Lian from the shade of the cabin as she urged her fellow disciples to work harder. “Careful, the floor is wet and slippery,” warned disciple Ah Lek as he turned, slipped and fell overboard. “Monk overboard!” shrieked disciple Ah Lian in her high-pitched voice. There was a commotion as the disciples rushed to the aid of their fallen comrade which nearly overturned the boat and ended with disciple Ah Lek entangled in the net along with the fish.

It was a while before the local fishermen were able to rescue disciple Ah Lek and brought the fishing boats with their catch to the shore. “So many fish! So many fish!” chanted the happy fishermen. Abba Ah Beng beamed and said, “God is good and has blessed us with a bountiful harvest.” “How many fish are here, I wonder?” mused disciple Ah Lek who did not seem worse for wear despite his dip in the ocean except for a distinctive fishy pong that seem to surround him. His fellow disciples were trying to hold their breath and turning blue, or breathing into small linen that were dabbed with fragrant medicated oil. “153!” exclaimed disciple Ah Lian triumphantly. “What?” shouted all the disciples and Abba Ah Beng simultaneously. “How do you know the exact number of fish caught?” asked Abba Ah Beng after they have all recovered from their initial surprise.

“Gospel of John, chapter 21,” replied disciple Ah Lian with a smug smile on her face, “read it in my Quiet Time this morning.” “Ooo…,” said the disciples as their contorted expressions reveal their inner struggle to remember the chapter.

“Ah, now I remember,” said disciple Ah Kow. “It is about the time when the disciples went fishing after Jesus died. They caught nothing until the resurrected Jesus came along and told them to throw the net to the right side of the boat. They obeyed and they caught…caught…153 fish.” “Clever!” “Actsy!” “Show off!” were some of the comments from his fellow disciples.

“Very good, Ah Kow,” said Abba Ah Beng with a gleam in his eye. “Now, tell me why the number of fish caught is exactly 153?” Suddenly the disciples were looking everywhere except at Abba Ah Beng as they tried to avoid eye contact with their teacher. “Remember that they were not catching any fish and were about to give up until Jesus came along and they obeyed him,” continued Abba Ah Beng.

“Remember, my disciple,” said Abba Ah Beng switching to his teaching mode and even the sound of his voice became modulated, “that success and bountiful harvest come from obedience to the commands of Christ.

“God loves all of us and wants us to love Him. He wants to bring more people into His church. The number 153 is his code for His intention to grow the church,” said Abba Ah Beng.

“Hmm?” grunted disciple Ah Lek as he suddenly realized that he was sitting alone and his fellow disciples were keeping a discrete distance and were standing upwind from him.

“In the book of Genesis, God opened Rachel’s barren womb and she gave birth. Rachel named her newborn Joseph (Gen. 30:24). Joseph means ‘May the Lord add to me another son’ showing her desire for another son. As you know, Rachel and Leah were in a reproductive competition to see who will give birth to more sons. When Joseph came of age at 17 years old and was kidnapped (Gen. 37:2), he became symbolic of God’s ‘increase another son’ who was Benjamin.

“God uses the same symbolism to show that he will ‘increase another son’ to Jesus’ disciples after the resurrection. The other ‘son’ will be the Gentile nations who will come to follow Jesus through the actions of Jesus’ disciples in obeying His Word and spreading the Gospel. If you add 1+2+3+4+5+ all the way to 17, you get?”

“153!” shouted Ah Kow who was very adept at working with an abacus. “Exactly! In letting Jesus’ disciples catching exactly 153 large fish, God was revealing to them that a new ‘son’ will soon be joining them. All He required of them is their obedience.” Abba Ah Beng stopped as the mouth watering aroma of freshly BBQ fish replaced the fishy smell of disciple Ah Lek. “Remember, it is in obedience to Christ that the disciples were successful in catching fish. Now, let’s eat!” said Abba Ah Beng to the cheers of his disciples.

Reflection Questions

1.      The key to success and abundant harvest in John 21 is obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ. Why do you think to be obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ is so important?

2.      God has left many clues in the Bible of His intention to save all people, not just the Jews. What are some of the examples of these clues that you can think of?

3.      Being obedient means sharing the Gospel. What are some of the ways you can think of to share the Gospel with your friends, neighbors or colleagues at work?

Dear God,

Thank you for your love for all the people. It is wonderful that you have hidden the clues to your redemption plan in the Bible showing us that it is your purpose all along to save all people. Help us to read the Bible carefully so that we can understand your master plan. Equip us too so that we can become agents of yours and serve you in this plan of redemption.

Amen.

Thanks to Dr Tony Siew for his post on 153.

Should Malaysian Christians Emigrate?

In 2007, according to census, about 35% of Malaysians who emigrated to Australia are Christians. This is significant when about 9% of Malaysians are Christians. Bishop Hwa Yung in his article Should Christians Emigrate? published in Nov/Dec 2006 issue of Berita NECF suggests that Malaysian Christians emigrate because of the attraction of the West, the lack of professional fulfillment, racial and religious factors, and erosion of confidence in the “ability and integrity” of the government. He further notes that the justification offered by those who are or are about to emigrate include “we can serve God anywhere,” the Bible allows emigration and the “prospects of persecution.”

The good Bishop concludes that emigration should be an exception rather than the rule because of the great spiritual and socio-political needs in Malaysia both in the country and in the Malaysian churches. The exception is a true calling of God for the individual or family to leave. Preempting the question, “what about my children future?” Hwa Yung gave a two-fold answer. Firstly, those who emigrate are usually well off enough to have sent their children overseas and thus their children already have a good head start and secondly, if they can trust God for their security, should they also not trust the Lord for their children’s security? There are many people who see the Bishop’s comments as being biased and legalistic.

The Agora, a blog managed by City Discipleship Presbyterian Church in Petaling Jaya discussed this topic of Should Christians Emigrate? and the comments the post received are worth reading. One comment is

“It will mean that in the face of genuine spiritual and socioeconomic needs, which are far greater than those in the West, we turn our backs and walk away like the priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan. By leaving, we leave the country and the Malaysian church in a state of even greater need than before because often, it is precisely those who leave who have the training, resources and ability to alleviate the needs of the country and the Church. If this is so, then emigration cannot be a viable option for the Christian.”

Another comment is

“I used to think it was very selfish and self-centred as Christians to migrate and only think of themselves but I have since changed my mind for a number of reasons :-
1. Just like the prophets of yesteryear, there may come a time where we may all need to migrate somewhere else in order to see God more clearly (especially with the current Islamisation of M'sia )
2. I do not see anything wrong in migrating if you are called by God to do so for various reasons - Abraham to find the Promised Land, the Israelites to Egypt to avoid the famine and later to return to the Promised Land from slavery
3. History has shown us that not only [C]hristians has fled when there are persecutions, war, famine, natural disasters, etc
4. Leaving for another country whether it is for better job opportunities or our children's education is a personal matter between the individual [C]hristian and God. Hey, remember the founder of CK Tang of Singapore. He came to Singapore from China with only a Bible in his luggage and God told him to buy up the land where CK Tang is today - at Orchard Road. At that time it was a graveyard!!!!”

Rev Tan Soo Inn, writing in his weekly GRACE@WORK MAIL 16/07
[April 20 2007 Edition] To Go or To Stay? has this to say,

“There was a time when I would be angry at Malaysian Christians who chose to emigrate or who refused to return to Malaysia after their education abroad. Islam was the official religion of Malaysia. It was increasingly difficult for non Malaysian missionaries to enter the country. Surely it was God's will that Christians in Malaysia remain in the country to fulfill the Great Commission. Those who chose to leave were cop outs. I received many invitations to remain in Canada to minister after my theological studies there. The needs there were real. But I had been called to minister the Word in Malaysia. I came home.

I am glad to report that I am no longer that condemning angry young man. (I also need to disclose that I am residing in Singapore at the moment.) I have changed for two reasons. One is my growing conviction that the New Testament is totally against any form of legalism. I now use the preface "you must" very reluctantly apart from clear biblical commands. Secondly I have come to terms with the sheer diversity of God's dealings with His children. His journeys for each of us are so different. I repent of any attempt to use my own journey as a bench mark for anyone else. What I need to do is to be true to my own calling.”

Soo Inn concludes,

“Maybe emigration is not the real issue. The real issue is the issue of faith. Do we really believe Jesus' promises? What does it mean to seek first the kingdom and its righteousness? For ourselves? For our children? If we have some clarity as to the answers to these questions then we should be able to begin to answer the other questions of life including the question of whether we should emigrate or not.”

Both Hwa Yung and Soo Inn have highlighted the core issue concerning Malaysian Christians emigrating. It is an issue of faith. Does Malaysian Christians (myself included) have enough faith in God to remain where we are and be engaged with the country and help Malaysia prosper? It is our country and we are born here. It has fed us, clothed us, sheltered us and protected us. Hearing the voice of God is often subjective and Jeremiah has pointed out that the “heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (NIV Jer. 17: 9) It is possible to justify our emigrating with a hundred different reasons. Yet deep down, I believe that many know that it is not for these reasons but a lack of faith, and a desire for security and comfort rather than obedience and trust in God. There are numerous verses in the Bible to support emigration but there are equally enough verses to suggest staying and helping the country to prosper. Here I must add a caveat that I do know of a few Malaysian Christians who are really called by God to emigrate.

Malaysia is undergoing a difficult time now. There is a crying need for moral people with integrity and nation building skills. If Malaysian Christians are emigrating, and these are usually the brightest, most highly skilled and well educated (the receiving country already has vetted and selected only the cream), who will be left behind to be God’s people and help develop Malaysia (Jer.29:7)? Who will be the “salt” and “light?” Who will speak for God? Who will be God’s people in the expansion of His kingdom in the country? It will be ludicrous to think that God will send His brightest and best people away at the moment when the present need in Malaysia is great.

Malaysian Christians should be encouraged to remain in Malaysia, if not because it is their homeland, then it should because they are to consider Malaysia as their mission field. We have a cultural legacy of economic and social emigration. However it may be time to be counter cultural and decide and commit for our migration to end and stay in Malaysia. This is a commitment to living by faith for the present and the future.

A concerned Malaysian Christian wrote this prayer,

“Dear Heavenly Father,

From one man you created each nation. It is you who determines our boundaries and decides when we should rise & fall (Acts 17: 26). In this day & age, is there a country in this world where we can ’sit under our own vine and fig tree & drink water from our own wells. And we can invite our neighbours to sit with us peacefully?(Micah 4:4; Zech 3:10)

We confess the sins of immorality, injustice, corruption, murder & all manner of evil that has defiled Malaysia . The land is vomiting out its people (Lev 18:25-28). People are leaving Malaysia .

Lord, we the church in Malaysia want to stand in the gap. We will cry to you until you cleanse this land of all the wickedness & defilement. You have given us this land so that many may seek you and find you (Acts17: 27). We thank you that you have given us people willing to give their lives for this land. You have died for the people of Malaysia , Your blood can cleanse us from all forms of defilement, Your spirit can empower us to fight the giants in this land.

Deliver us from being refugees in another land trading the talents & gifts you have given us for a home. Let not our people be scattered. Let the people of Malaysia rise up to fight for our land and not allow the enemy from stealing our peace, harmony and richness in cultures and natural resources. We claim this land for your kingdom and for the generations you will bless because we trust in you.

Let our people not be scattered abroad and our children not know the intention You had when You formed this land. From a bunch of immigrants you made us into a nation. You gave us a name and call us a people when we were not a people.

Let our children know that there is a God in Heaven. We are not struggling alone. You are watching over us. Help us not give up the land to those who want to devour and destroy it. Send us reinforcement and aid us in the fight against wickedness and corruption in high places.

You only need Gideon & his 300 men to defeat their enemies.

Save Malaysia , O Lord. hear our prayer.

In Jesus Mighty name we ask, Amen”

Now more strongly than ever, the sound of a call to arms clang loudly in the spiritual battle for the heart and soul of Malaysia. May the soldiers of the cross be found entrenched in their armours rather than leaving the field before the battle.

Kyrie eleison!


picture source

Bob on Passion, Purpose and Pleasure

Kansas Bob's post on Passion, Purpose and Pleasure based on the movie Chariots of Fire reminds me of two great quotes from the movie. These two quotes are the inspiration for me as I struggle to find time to do ministry in the midst of a busy medical practice.

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast.
And when I run I feel His pleasure.

You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job.

So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.

Eric Liddel went on to be a missionary in China. When Japan invaded China in 1941, all missionaries were asked to leave. Eric chose to stay and was interned with other missionaries in a concentration camp in 1943. He died in 1945, five months before liberation.


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The Digital Great Commission

In my article The Influence of Globalisation on Christian Spiritual Formation in Churches In Malaysia and Singapore I highlight the use of technology may be missional.

Globalisation is not necessary bad. Using the improved communication and extensive networking provided by new technologies, it is easier to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world than before. The Internet has made it possible to reach even the remotest part of any country as long as there is Internet access. It has also allowed even the remotest part of the world with Internet access to be readily accessible. A Christian website may be accessed by anyone, even those in areas not accessible to missionaries. Social networking allows people to connect over long distances which otherwise will not know of one other’s existence. Streaming videos and MP3 allow download of materials anywhere in the world. The global culture has a made inroads into many other cultures. It is a two-way street. Local cultures may influence global culture. There is much potential in the wise use of art, music, video and writings to spread the Gospel. Anyone can upload something onto the Internet and have it viewed by thousands within the hour! YouTube may be used as a media for evangelisation. Virtual Christian faith communities may be set up online. The degree of Christian spiritual formation that may be done through the Internet has not been fully explored.

Christianity Today runs a Global Conversation on technology and mission.

THE GLOBAL CONVERSATION The Face-to-Face Gospel and the Death of Distance Al Erisman says we need to think about ministry in the digital culture the way missionaries think about the culture of the people they serve. Interview by Tim Stafford RESPONSES: Nigel M. de S. Cameron: Sci-Fi Reality Wha-Chul Son: Technological Divide Juan D. Rogers: Not Just Tools Haron Wachira: Blessings & Curses of Technology Video: Emotional Robots .

CT: What We Learned about Africa

Spotlight: What We Learned About Africa

The Pew Forum issued an extensive report on the world's "most religious" continent.

posted 6/03/2010 09:04AM Christianity Today online

Download a PDF of this article here

Future Trends of Global Missions

Learnings@Leadership Network suggests that there are

Eight Trends That Will Shape the Future of Global Missions

Many of these trends are very thought provoking.

1. Mutuality
   
   
2. Partnering
   
   
3. Investing in leaders
   
   
4. Combining good deeds and good news
   
   
5. Greater financial accountability
   
   
6. Business as mission
   
   
7. Focus
   
   
8. Technology
   

read article here

Global Conversation on Muslim-Christian Dialogue

Christianity Today and the Lausanne movement have been conducting Global Conversation on certain important global issues recently. In March 2010, the Conversation is on

How should Christians who have a passion for evangelization relate to Islam? For North Americans, the question took on new urgency in the wake of September 11. But Christians in Muslim-majority societies have dealt with the question far longer.

Chawkat Moucarry, World Vision International's director of interfaith relations describes his commitment and mission in A Lifelong Journey with Islam.

I have never understood why some people look at dialogue and mission in either-or terms. In my experience, these words belong so much to each other that they should never be divorced. Evangelical Christians (whose theology I share) have shown an unwarranted suspicion of dialogue, simply because some have used it as a substitute for mission. Not only are the two words compatible, but they must shape each other.

more here.

David Shenks has this to contribute "My life motto as I engage in dialogue with Muslims is the same that Moucarry has highlighted (1 Pet. 3:15): Be clear in my confession of faith—Jesus is Lord. Give account of this reality to all who ask. Bear witness with gentleness and respect." more here in Experiencing Dialogue.

While dialogue seems to be the way to go, there are concerns. Evelyne A. Reisacher who had served for over 20 years as the associate director of a church-based organization in France called l'AMI, dedicated to facilitate Christian-Muslim encounters and assist Muslim Background Believers. She is assistant professor of Islamic studies and Intercultural Relations at Fuller Theological Seminary has this to say in Dialogue Shaping Mission Shaping Dialogue.

In conclusion: Has my perception of dialogue changed? Yes and no. The questions I raised prior to my first experience of dialogue in 2003 are still relevant and must be revisited each time I engage in dialogue. My commitment to Jesus Christ and the gospel has not changed. But dialogue is a constant reminder of the human face of mission: It helps us encounter Muslims as equal interlocutors worthy of being listened to and with whom we should respectfully share our beliefs.

How then does this dialogue translate to realpolitik?

Dr Ng Kam Weng, director of Kairos Research Centre in Kuala Lumpur shares about the situation in Malaysia "to explain the ambivalence of Christian minority groups toward Christian-Muslim dialogue" as a response in Building a Common Society.

Dialogue beneath the Gothic arches of Western universities should be welcomed, but surely genuine dialogue would gain more credence if it took place at the ground level, especially in countries where Islamic authorities do not feel the need to modulate their power so as to present an acceptable face, as they would when dealing with their Western counterparts. If indeed dialogue takes place, the Islamic authorities typically set the terms of engagement, reducing it to social rituals to confirm the dominance of Islam rather than to promote mutual understanding and respect. Naturally, local Christians lose enthusiasm for "dialogue."

It is not often so cut and dry about inter-faith dialogue in Muslim-majority countries as has been pointed out by Dr Ng. Read more here.

Nigeria is another country where is there had been violence between Muslims and Christians. Sunday Agang who is dean of the School of Theology and Ethics, JETS Theological Seminary in Jos, Nigeria comments on The Audacity of Dialogue.

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About Lesslie Newbigin

Lesslie Newbigin's writing plays a large role in helping me to understand the missional role of the church and about the emerging church movement.

The Missionary Who Wouldn't Retire Lesslie Newbigin, born 100 years ago today, launched a new career at age 66 by calling Western churches to act like they were in the mission field. By Krish Kandiah

When I speak with students around the world, I find them confident in their ability to present the gospel. They tell me that God loves me, that I have sinned, that Christ died for me, and that I need to believe in Jesus to get to heaven. Their confidence is reassuring, but their content is worrying. Doctoral students and seminarians often seem to have no deeper grasp of the gospel than do Sunday school children. The gospel they present has been reduced to a personalized product that offers the ultimate bargain—exchanging spiritual poverty for eternal riches. The problem with much of our evangelism is not what we include but what we omit: the Holy Spirit, the church, persecution, obedience, mission, reconciliation, resurrection, and new creation.

The gospel according to Newbigin challenges this thinking in two distinct ways. First, he calls us back to a gospel that brings personal reconciliation with God, but also a gospel that connects us with God's reconciling purposes in conscience, culture, church, creation, and cosmos. Second, he calls us back to a gospel that is more than a series of bullet points, a story that centers on the flesh-and-blood character of the divine Christ.

read more

Mission to Cambodia

Video report of one of the short term mission team to Cambodia from my church

Lottie Moon in China

The Little Woman with the Big Legacy
A tough and determined missionary, Lottie Moon called an entire denomination to a greater participation in the Great Commission.
By Catherine Allen

In her life as a missionary in China, Lottie Moon stood barely more than four feet tall. In death, she weighed about 50 pounds. Her impact on the history of missions, however, has been enormous.

Finish this article from ChristianHistory.net.

A Call for Spiritual Formation (8)

Paragraph Five

Spiritual formation is, by its very nature, missional. As we are formed into the likeness of Christ, we increasingly share God’s infinitely tender love for others. We deepen in our compassion for the poor, the broken, and the lost. We ache and pray and labor for others in a new way, a selfless way, a joy‐filled way. Our hearts are enlarged toward all people and toward all of creation.

There have been in recent years an expanded understanding of mission as not only sending out certain people to share the good news but also that the whole church is by its nature, according to theologian Darrell Guder (1998) is “God’s called and sent people.” The term missional is used to describe this expanded understanding of mission. In other words, God’s purpose is not just to call a people for himself but also in order that these people may become his instruments for his purpose of redeeming his fallen created order.

Christian spiritual formation is missional in that the process of growing into Christlikeness in communties of faith will deepen our compassion and love for others and lead to active involvement in the world. It will mean sharing the good news, helping the poor and sick, defending the oppressed, fighting injustice and healing the earth. Christian spiritual formation is the process of transforming and equipping us to discern where is God working in this world, and to align our lives to the achievement of God’s purposes. We become partakers of the missio Dei; the mission of God.

In summary, Christian spiritual formation enables us to become part of the larger purpose of God. It is not individualistic in forming just an I-and-Thou relationship with God, nor is it to form an exclusive community of faith where only certain people are admitted. It is not about us. It is all about God. It is about God’s purpose for the world.

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William Carey and Modern Missions

from Christian History Home > Missionaries > William Carey

William Carey

Father of modern Protestant missions

posted 8/08/2008 12:56PM

"Expect great things; attempt great things."

At a meeting of Baptist leaders in the late 1700s, a newly ordained minister stood to argue for the value of overseas missions. He was abruptly interrupted by an older minister who said, "Young man, sit down! You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me."

That such an attitude is inconceivable today is largely due to the subsequent efforts of that young man, William Carey.

read more

Global & American Christianity the Same?

from Christianity Today.com. Worth reading this interview

Does Global Christianity Equal American Christianity? Historian Mark Noll talks about how U.S. missionaries have—and have not—shaped the faith in other nations. Interview by David Neff

Moltmann on Double Predestination

ESSAY:
Double Predestination: The Elected Ones and the Crowd of the Condemned
By Jürgen Moltmann
Professor of Systematic Theology at Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen, Germany

The strong points of Reformed Theology are at the same time her weaknesses. In order to become fit for the 21st century in the common house of ecumenical theology and in the universal house of humankind and the earth, it seems necessary to reformulate the strength of the Reformed Tradition. This cannot mean adapting our tradition to the others or integrating our originality into what is common to all, but to find our own profile in new communities of Christianity and humankind. “If two are saying the same, one is superfluous,” says an old Russian proverb. It is not the intention of ecumenical community and interreligious dialogue to make each other superfluous. The difference is interesting.

Since John Calvin and Theodore of Beza, the founder of the reformed orthodoxy in the 17th century, “Calvinism” is famous on the one hand and notoriously accused on the other hand for the doctrine of double predestination: Humanity is divided into the elected here and the rejected there. God is totally free to choose whomever he wants and to reject whomever he doesn’t want. Both serve the glorification of his majesty, and who can argue with the sublimity of the infinite God?

The belief in divine election was and is indeed the strength of Reformed faith. It gave believers an invincible certainty in their faith to know that one is not only loved by God, and not only justified by the grace of Christ and sanctified by the inspiration of the holy Spirit of God, but also elected by the will of God. From this belief in the divine election follows the trust in the divine perseverance through the ups and downs of personal life until the final redemption: I shall not fall and nobody and nothing can tear me out of the hands of God. God is faithful to his election, Christ has prayed for me “that my faith shall not fail" (Luke 22:32), the divine seed of the Holy Spirit in my heart will not die. This belief was the power of resistance in persecutions, i.e. of the Huguenots in France and Reformed Christians in the Netherlands. Marie Durand was incarcerated in the Tour de la Constance in Aigues-Mortes in Southern France for thirty-eight years, sustaining and exhorting her companions in captivity for the sake of their faith, and here she made her famous inscription in the stone “Register.”

But does this strength of belief in one's divine election mean that the rest of humankind is lost and damned to eternity as the crowd of corruption, the massa perditionis as Augustine called them? Must we tell the rest of the world: “According to the Bible and our belief those who do not believe in Christ will perish?” as the president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches Choan-Seng Sonq from Taiwan asked? There are always two different explanations of the simple fact that one and the same Gospel provokes belief in one, and disbelief in others. It is either due to the will of God or of human beings. Because believers confess that they owe their faith to the grace of God, they see in unbelief the disgrace of God. Since they feel in their faith “elected,” they can see in unbelievers only “rejected” people. The other explanation refers to the free choice of human will: Those who decided for Christ see heaven as their eternal future, and for those who decide against Christ they see only hell as their future—or more recently “total nonbeing.” The result of the view believers have of unbelievers is the same, whether one follows Augustine and Calvin in their doctrine of double predestination, or Pelagius and Erasmus in their doctrine of the double end of human free choice.

I think it is not characteristic of the Christian Gospel to confront people with the statement, “You belong to the crowd of the condemned and your future is hell.” It was terrible to see in the movie “Breaking the Waves” a Calvinistic pastor burying a person having lost faith with the words, “We now hand you over to hell.” It is certainly not in the Spirit of God the creator of everything to condemn 95 percent of the people he has created in his image, and it is not in accordance with Christ to limit salvation to 144,000 elected only, for whom he died. We need no theological explanation for the existence of unbelievers or people of another faith. Our only answer to the rejection of the Gospel is preaching and explaining the Gospel to unbelievers and people of other faiths.

Faith is not only human trust in God, but also and in the first place God's faithfulness. It is in this sense that I take every unbeliever as a person in whom God is trusting, in whom God is present and for whom God is waiting. God believes in every human person. This can be called “objective faith” (Christoph Blumhardt).

It was Karl Barth who—following Blumhardt—gave us an ingenious christological reformulation of the Reformed doctrine of double predestination (Church Dogmatics II/2). The sequence of his argument is this: 1. Before God elects or rejects anybody, God determines himself to be the God of the people: “I shall be your God and you shall be my people,” is the covenant-formula of Israel. This can be called the self-election of God. 2. In the passion and Crucifixion of Christ, God has put his righteous condemnation of sin, evil and death on his own Son. Between Gethsemene and Golgatha Jesus suffered hell and eternal death for all of us, when he cried out: “My God, why have you forsaken me?” 3. With Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, hell and eternal death are therefore overcome. The election of grace is revealed: “Hell, where is your victory!” (1 Cor. 15:55). Grace flowing out of the resurrected Christ is pure grace and as such unconditional and also universal, all-embracing and excluding no one. This is the content of the Gospel and there is no terror in the doctrine of double predestination anymore.

“The doctrine of election is the sum of the Gospel because of all words that can be said or heard it is the best: that God elects man; that God is for man too the One who loves in freedom,” said Karl Barth in § 32 of his Church Dogmatics (trans. is from Bromiley ed.). Why is this so? Because “God took upon himself the condemnation of sinful men with all consequences, and elected man to participate in his eternal glory (§ 33).” Is Barth teaching “double predestination?” Yes! But in a new dialectical form: God took the condemnation upon himself in order to embrace all in his election of grace. This is the new dialectical form of the old doctrine of “double predestination.”

Of course, this new formulation is not an explanation of the fact that some believe in the Gospel and others not. But do we really need a theological explanation of this fact, or can we best answer the fact that there are unbelievers with a new and better witness to the Gospel that God loves them with grace and is carrying all their sins and sufferings for them? Another question is whether universalism is the result of this reformulation. The answer is “No,” because we are witnesses of the Gospel not judges in the final judgment of God. Whether God will in the end embrace all with his transforming grace is His sake, ours is the witness of the Gospel to everybody. But if somebody dies in unbelief, is he then out, or is there hope also for him? The answer is: Our means of preaching and praying come to an end with death, but not Christ's power, because he was resurrected and has his possibilities with the dead, preaching the Gospel in the world of the dead. There is, therefore, no reason and no right for us to condemn and exclude anyone, living or dead. We are not the judges of faith, but the servants of joy.

PUBLISHED IN THE BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE FOR REFORMED THEOLOGY, SPRING/SUMMER 2001, VOL. 2, #2.

Relational Evangelism

I see a trend moving away from the 'confrontation' style of evangelism using the Four Spiritual Laws to a more humanising relational evangelism. I am happy about this because basically evangelism and sharing the gospel is about relationships. Here is an interesting interview from Christianity Today.

The Changing Face of Apologetics

Lee Strobel doesn't think the traditional methods work anymore.

Interview by Stan Guthrie | posted 6/11/2009 09:22AM

The Unexpected Adventure: Taking Everyday Risks to Talk with People about Jesus by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg Zondervan, May 2009 304 pp., $9.99

Lee Strobel has written many books—The Case for Faith, The Case for Christ, and The Case for the Real Jesus among them—that provide intellectual reasons, wrapped in stories, for the Christian faith. Stan Guthrie, Christianity Today managing editor for special projects, interviewed Strobel, a former pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, at the Christian Book Expo in Dallas about his latest title, written with Mark Mittelberg: The Unexpected Adventure: Taking Everyday Risks to Talk with People about Jesus (Zondervan).

read more

Goodbye Ralph Winter

Reposted from Christianity Today liveblog

May 23, 2009 6:49AM

Missiologist Ralph D. Winter (1925-2009)

His vision for world evangelization was "breathtaking" and his influence "globally seismic."

by David Neff

Veteran missiologist Ralph D. Winter passed away last Wednesday, May 20. (Hat tips to @jhgrantjr and @edstetzer for alerting us via Twitter.)

According to the US Center for World Mission website, Winter died peacefully at home in Pasadena, California, "surrounded by three of his four daughters, his wife Barb, and a few friends."

Winter had been battling cancer and had been weakened by radiation treatments. He was 84.

In 2005, Winter was named by Time magazine as one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals. His speech at the 1974 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization is credited with focusing evangelical mission activity on "unreached people groups."

Time commented:

Even at 80, Winter generates new strategies from his California-based Frontier Mission Fellowship.

Trained as a civil engineer, linguist, cultural anthropologist and Presbyterian minister, he describes himself as a "Christian social engineer." Working through the William Carey International University and the U.S. Center for World Mission, which he founded, he is producing a new generation of Christian message carriers, some native, ready to venture out to places with such ready-to-be-ministered flocks as Muslim converts to Christianity and African Christians with heretical beliefs. Says Winter: "It's this movement, not the formal Christian church, that's growing. That's our frontier."

An abundance of information is available at ralphwinter.org, including a timeline of "milestone events" and an extensive autobiographical account of his engagement with modern missions and missiology.

Also worth reading: Pastor John Piper's personal tribute to Winter. "His vision of the advance of the gospel was breathtaking," writes Piper, calling Winter's emphasis on unreached peoples "globally seismic in the transformation of missions."

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Ian Randall: Spiritual Revolution

Ian Randall (2008), Spiritual Revolution: The Story of OM, Milton Keynes, Bucks : Authentic Media

There have been many books on the history of Operation Mobilisation (OM) but this book is unique in that it was issued on the 50th anniversary of the organisation. Randall set out to tell of God's faithfulness in the formation, ministries and sustaining of Operation Mobilisation International. It started with George Verwer's conversion as a teenager in New York. Today OM has its presence in over 100 countries with more than 5000 workers.

The book highlights the various ministries of OM; short term missions, evangelism, literature evangelism, ships and sharper of young lives. It is especially meaningful for me as it has influenced me when I was a young Christian and I am in contact with others who have also been influenced by the organisation. One of them now teaches in a Bible school in Kuala Lumpur while another is a missionary in China. There is an appendix at the end of the book which records ministries started by former OMers and also another list of books written by former OMers.

OM is truly a spiritual revolution involving a team of people dedicated to missions and in the saving of the lost. I strongly recommend this book to those who want to know more about OM.

Update: Thanks Andrew Jones for pointing out that it should be George Verwer instead of George Weaver (already corrected in the text).

Paul and Margaret Brand

This interesting documentary is part of the Day of Discovery television series produced by the RBC Ministries.

The documentary shows the life and mission of Dr Paul Brand and his wife, Dr. Margaret Brand in their work among the lepers of India. There are still photos, videos of Paul and Margaret Brand at work, and interviews of Paul, Margaret and Philip Yancey.

This is suitable for individual, small and large groups viewing.

Scot McKnight-Missional Communities

Theological Forum at Singapore Bible College

The School of Theology (English) of the Singapore Bible College is celebrating their 50th anniversary. One of their projects is to hold a Theological Forum. I hope this will become an annual affair for them.

Dr Harold Netland is Professor of Philosophy and Intercultural Studies and the Naomi A. Fausch of Missions at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

The lecture tonight is on "Globalization, Cultures and Religions." He is a friendly and I engaged him in a conversation. I also got him to autograph two of his books for my library (see below).

I am especially keen to know his thoughts about the effect of globalization on spiritual formation or discipleship. Tonight's lecture laid the groundwork. I hope he gets into the nitty gritty tomorrow.