My Girl...

Hey, notice anything familiar about the girl on the cover of this book? Yeah, the same stock photo my publisher chose for Through Her Eyes. Darn it!

I happened to catch her gaze coming at me from a promotional poster at my favorite bookstore.

I shouldn't be a bad sport; Dom's book sounds quite a bit more exciting than mine. I'd probably like it. It has a spaceship in it, and a global disaster - related, I presume, to the eponymous comet - betrayal, love, and young adults who save the human race. Mine doesn't even have a plot, not really. It's more like a bunch of nonfiction short stories.

Well, I do like that sort of thing, too. I'm reading an interesting book now that provides glimpses of a bunch of people's lives. It's Danny Danziger's Museum: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Composed of 52 interviews with people who work on the five acres in New York that are home to that grand institution, from curators and board members to security guards and janitors. Some of them talk about art. Some of them don't. I found it at the library.

Once again I'm reminded how much I love that kind of work - hearing and telling people's stories. Maybe instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars to go to grad school - as I've been contemplating - I should just spend that much-needed sabbatical I hope to get on conducting a project like Danziger's: research, reflection, writing. By the way, he had an advantage I've never had... someone else to transcribe his tapes!

Topic: Writing

The Most Effective Strategy

There are other strategies for completing world evangelization besides sending out missionaries and evangelists. Broadcasting, literature distribution... ministries of prayer, presence, and compassion... all have a part to play. Is there one strategy that is particularly effective?

Some supporters once asked a mission leader, “What is the most effective strategy in the world today for reaching the unreached?” He answered frankly, “martyrdom.” Briefly stunned, they then asked politely, “What is another effective strategy?” (I've heard this story attributed to two different sources.)

A hard pill to swallow. Or as Jesus might say, a hard cup to drink. I suppose calling it a "strategy" is a bit misleading, since it's not the kind of thing you can really plan or even position yourself for, really. Some have tried; the early church had to be clear that you weren't allowed to turn yourself in, as there was some enthusiasm in those days for getting one's crown in record time. Which of the early church leaders was it who said, "if the lions refuse to eat me, I shall use force on them"?

Yet martyrdom may not be all bad news either. When Jesus said, "You will be my witnesses..." (Acts 1:8) this is clearly part of what he was describing.

Consider how very subversive the whole thing is... Opponents of the gospel have often come to the reasonable conclusion that removing the messenger ought to stem the flow the message – or, if that is not effective, how about a genocide?

Over the last 20 centuries 70 million Christians have been killed for their faith. About 60% of all the Christians who have been martyred for their faith were part of the Orthodox tradition – Russian, Syrian, Ukrainian, and Armenian. Another 18% were Catholic. (Just to put this in context, Muslims considered martyrs by their own people = 80 million, and even Baha'i claims 1 million.)

The worst recent case of persecution took place in China between 1966 and 1967, during that country’s Cultural Revolution. “This," say David Barrett and Todd Johnson, "was history’s most systematic attempt ever, by a single nation, to eradicate and destroy Christianity and all religion. In this it failed." (David Barrett & Todd Johnson, World Christian Trends: AD30-AD2200: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus, William Carey Library, 2001, p. 7.)

Today, almost one in ten Chinese people is a Christian. And there, more so than in many places, that probably means they are a follower of Jesus. While persecution and martyrdom have left a huge swath of tragedy behind, the same dynamic is true in other places: amazing fruit.

Martyrdom: Long-term Effect on Evangelization 
(Barrett & Johnson, p. 32)

• Countries with lengthy history of martyrs, now fully evangelized: 210
• Countries with many martyrs, massive church growth today: 40
• Countries with few or no martyrs, no church growth today: 30

Today is the anniversary of the martyrdom of three men in Malatya, Turkey - a country where, in spite of great efforts, a missiological breakthrough has yet to occur (that is to say the church is still very small and lacks the resources to reach the 70 million Turks and others who live among them). Perhaps the martyrdom of Necati Aydin, Uğur Yüksel, and Tillmann Geske will be part of what turns things around.

The trial of their persecutors continues, and one of the things Turkish Christians are asking us to pray for is that this leads to more positive awareness of their existence - that there ARE some Turks who are Christians, that to be a Turk does not automatically mean you are Muslim.

Hey, Did You Know?

Things like blogging and the social networking tools we use, they provide so much – perhaps too much – opportunity for “did you know?” and “hey, listen to this!” communication. It’s like sitting reading the paper with a family member or housemate. Do you find it annoying to have someone read the funnies to you, or quoting an odd headline or story that you might have already read, or are planning to? Or do you enjoy it?

How are the “did you know” style of blogging, facebooking, and “tweeting” the same, or different? Or does it depend on how engaging the blogger, facebooker, or tweeter may be, or how interested you are in the specific topic?

While I do share my own thoughts and experiences I often find myself quoting – you might say parroting – things I’ve picked up elsewhere. And I don’t know if those posts are as much of interest to my readers as they are to me.

Ah well, you’re still here, aren’t you? I don’t run into as many people who tell me “I love your blog!” and I don’t get many comments, as once I did. But still get as much traffic as ever. Well, I do like to think some of what I post is of use to the stranger who find it through a search engine. So I think I’ll keep up doing history and literature posts from time to time. They keep my brain working, too.

Africa Series

I have been toying with the idea of researching and writing a series of essays on missions in Africa. (How many may depend on the feedback or encouragement I get. Though, then again, it may not!) I had thought to start with the plucky Victorian women like those I wrote about who worked in China. I’ve read a few books now about Mary Slessor (Nigeria) and would like to read more about Lilias Trotter (Algeria). And I’ve got the materials I pulled together for teaching about David Livingstone (Zambia). Each one of these characters was something different from what you might expect.

But I’ve realized I don’t know very much about African Christianity, generally. I keep running into people who are interested in Africa, and/or who plan or yearn to go on a mission trip to some part of that continent. So I thought I’d like to be more knowledgeable than I am. They ask questions, or want background or feedback, and I don't know what to say. Over the next few weeks I'll share some interesting bits I’ve picked up in reading Philip Jenkins’ The Next Christendom.

Looking Back, Analytically

Source here.

How to Ask a Question

1. Timing

So, I've noticed that when it comes to email, the day of the week that I write seems to have a direct connection to the likelihood that my email gets a response. (Monday mornings and Friday nights are bad, as are weekends; midweek is best.)

Now I'm wondering if the time of day the email is read also makes a difference. I would hazard a guess that - when you are writing to people who sit in front of computers with their email open all day - the early or mid-afternoon emails tend to generate a quick response. Do you think I'm right? I wonder if anyone's done a study of this sort of thing?

At any rate, that may have been a factor in the active exchange generated by the question I sent to three people one recent afternoon. Each one wrote back quickly; one of them twice, and one suggested another person to contact. This secondary contact was also happy to help, and cc:ed two others on his response. Both of them responded promptly as well. Each of these emails indicated an active interest in my question and included helpful information in response to my request. Within hours I had a fairly rich body of material to send back to the person who had asked me for the information.

I suspect the fact that I received the request at just the time in the day I was most likely to welcome a bit of detective work must have helped, and I think I caught each of my correspondents in just the same frame of mind.

2. A Simple, Clear Request

I asked a fairly simple question to which I had not been able to find good answers on my own, but about which my correspondents had some knowledge. The question was, "Do you know any good missionary biographies about Thailand?" Surely there must be some...

So I started to ask.

3. Guanxi (described here)

The other factor I'm pretty sure made a difference was the level of connection each person had with the one posing the question. CG, who made the original call, didn't know any of us. No guanxi to speak of, between us. But he was warm and friendly, and tapped into the two factors above - good timing, and a clear, simple request. He reached me through BK, my friend and coworker. BK and I have some guanxi; we help each other a lot and feel beholden to be responsive to one another.

I send my request to CD, a personal friend, who took it back to JB, her coworker. JB doesn't know CG but he knows me. JB and CD are good friends.

I also sent my request to SB, a good friend and colleague. SB and I are frequently in touch and like to help each other, so of course he responded.

Then, I sent my request to DD. DD works in our home office in Florida. She and I are friends. DD suggested I contact TS.

TS not only has a great relationship with DS, he also knows me and owes me a favor. After all, last time I asked him a question he took about a month to answer it. So, he may have felt some pressure to be more responsive this time.

Then - here's where the guanxi gets really thick. TS wrote back and cc:ed FS and AS - his parents! They are also subject-area experts. So they have a strong motivation to help people get their facts straight, even if they typically have more people wanting their help than they can respond to. But the question came from their son. And they knew it was for me. AS knows me, if only slightly. They didn't seem to understand that I was asking for CG; but for me, and for TS, they "hastened to reply."

CG lucked out. His question was not perceived by anybody as impersonal or burdensome. Everyone was motivated to help.

And CG knew what to do next: He followed up with a phone call to AS, the subject-area expert, and they apparently charmed one another. "Delightful man!" says CG. Now CG has a direct connection. He will have no trouble getting all the advice he needs, not just about this particular question but other areas that might affect his project. He works with a campus ministry and is taking a short-term team to Thailand this summer.

I wonder how often I ignore or minimize the importance of these factors - timing, clarity, and connections?

Blogging through Holy Week: Sunday

Worthy

And they sang a new song:

"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"

The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 5:9-14

* * *

When revival transformed the eighteenth-century Moravians in Herrnhut, Germany, they became enthralled with these verses. A visit from men from far lands across the sea, pleading for missionaries, gave them a way to respond. The Moravian mission was motivated in large part by a theology of mission rooted in the worthiness of God to receive worship; their goal was to present worshipers to Christ.

When they were sailing off to the ends of the earth, places like Greenland, the West Indies, or America, they would make their way to the back of the boat to look back at the dock where their friends and family were waiting after saying goodbye to them, perhaps never to return.

The last thing they would do, by tradition, was to shout out these words:

“May the lamb who was slain receive the reward for his suffering!”

Blogging through Holy Week: Saturday

The crucifixion was over so quickly. A deep darkness fell on the land and the temple curtain ripped in two. Christ did not hang on the cross for long; by nightfall Friday he has been laid in the tomb.

But what a horrible thing to experience at all.

“So deeply was the human race enmeshed with sin that they not only failed to recognize their creator and redeemer on his entry into his world, they put him to death using one of the most sadistic and humiliating forms of execution ever devised.”

So says Alister McGrath, in his book Knowing Christ. (p. 224)

“Part of the task of the Christian believer is to understand the full meaning of the cross. … [It] represents the glorious triumph of God over the forces of sin, evil and despair. …It represents the fullest disclosure of the overwhelming love of God for his sinful creatures and his determination to restore us to all that he intended for us.” (p. 225)

McGrath accepted a challenge from Ignatius of Loyala, the founder of the Catholic order known as the Jesuits, who instructed his followers to imaging themselves present at the crucifixion and talking to Christ as he hangs on the cross.

What an uncomfortable experience that is! Not to think about the cross in abstract terms (like discussing a friend behind their back?), but placing ourselves in the presence of Christ in his agony and asking him what he means, how he wants us to respond. Both understanding and intimacy are things we long for and things we fear. They are messy.

“In many ways it was deeply shaming experience, as it brought home to me the shallowness of my commitment to Christ. I began to realize that I was prepared to allow Christ to affect my ideas – but not much else.” (p. 227)

Do we think of “Jesus-dying-on-the-cross” in the abstract, theoretical, and symbolic, or are we willing to turn toward our Friend and be with him in this?

We don’t know much about what was going on in Jerusalem that next day, Saturday. It was the Sabbath. The disciples had scattered the day before. And Jesus? What was going on with him? What does “…he descended into hell” really mean? I want to know more.