The Gospel in the 21st Century

God Carries Out His Mission in and Through Global Migration

2010-05-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

A recent article by a Latin American theologian I admire very much, Samuel Escobar, describes how global migration is surely a factor in how God is carrying out his mission in the contemporary world. "Mission Fields on the Move" demonstrates that the extension of God's kingdom has always been carried out in a context where people have been on the move, whether it be due to economic realities or outright persecution. In the Hebrew Scriptures God makes extensive provision for the alien and stranger. For example, Deuteronomy 10:18-19 God's love for the alien is spelled out, and he commands the Israelites to love the aliens, for they, too, were aliens in Egypt.

Recent rhetoric that borders on xenophobia is not at all what the Lord God has in mind for his people. Escobar makes three significant points in his article, after outlining how migration played an important part in the expansion of the gospel during the time of the early church. First, he calls for Christian compassion and sensitivity. Second, he recommends that churches should take a prophetic stance against the injustices and abuse that migrants often suffer. Thirdly, he suggests that the church can see the global migrant movements today as opportunities for outreach.

Whatever the state may feel compelled to institute in the interests of its own self-preservation, we are called to love even our enemies. If Lutheran pastors ministered to Nazi prisoners of war in concentration camps in North Dakota during WWII, it seems the church today can find it within itself to care for those who, for whatever reason, find themselves among us at this time in history. Who can know how God can use us in such circumstances.

NOTE: Here is a statement from the president of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and the Executive Director of LCMS World Relief and Human Car on the issue of ministry to the aliens in our midst.

Faith and Globalization

2010-02-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology and Director for the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. In this video he introduces his students at Yale University to a course on Faith and Globalization. The topic is one that has interested me since I first read an article in the February 2002 issue of The Atlantic, entitled "Oh Gods." In that same year, Philip Jenkins' book, The Next Christendom, came out, which brought to our attention the great shifts in the "center of gravity" of Christianity that took place right around the time of the new millennium.

While Christianity continues to grow, at least in the "majority world," it is true that the potential for global conflict caused by religious forces continues to alarm many socio-political observers. As my colleague, Dr. Adam Francisco points out, it is one of the prime motivations for the militancy of the neo-atheists, who, unlike the old atheists who where content to sit back and chuckle at religious fools, have become much more "evangelistic" in promoting their message--that we could have a much greater chance for world peace if we could do away with religious beliefs.

In this video, Dr. Volf makes an interesting assertion, that our contemporary western culture is more about "a managed pursuit of pleasure, than a sustained endeavor to lead the good life." It would seem, that there is a conflict between the globalizing and secularizing influences of western culture, and the pursuit of a good life, "as defined by foundational symbols and convictions." At the same time, it is true that cultures and societies and nations and powers come and go, yet "faith" or "faiths" remain, he asserts.

He also points out how we must understand "faith," not as merely an idea or a belief that someone might hold to be true as an opinion, but for which there is no way of knowing whether the beliefs are really true; rather, when we speak about faith or faiths, they must be seen as a total way of seeing and understanding the world. Faith is foundational, or, as I would say, it is a worldview that governs all aspects of life and action.

It should be no surprise, then, that religion and globalization processes clash. And yet, Volf maintains, faith and globalization do not have to be seen as if they were in an adversarial relationship, and faith will continue as the motivating factor towards the idea of the good life, although he recognizes that sometimes those visions of good life, from one religious system to another, are in conflict.

I, for one, look forward to having the time to view most of these lectures as a way to gain a deeper appreciation for the interrelationship between the growing nature of Christianity worldwide and globalization processes. I realize I've gotten a little off track from the original intent or outline of the blog, but bear with me--I'll try to tie it all together.

Watch it on Academic Earth

Reports from Jacmel

2010-02-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

As a result of our assessment visit, decisions were made 1)to mobilize medical teams to work in Jacmel, 2)provide medical supplies, food and water to Puerto Prince via land from the Dominican Republic, and 3)to send the same to Jacmel via sea from the DR. You can read updates on the relief efforts in Puerto Prince by visiting the blog of Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive director of LCMS Human Care and World Relief.

Haiti Report #6

2010-01-28T17:20:00.002-08:00

January 27
Report #6

Dear friends,

This will be the last update for now on our trip to Haiti. Unfortunately I was not able to get to a computer since my last update up until now. I am in Miami on my way back to Fort Wayne.

In Port-au-Prince on Saturday we stopped at the church where Pastor Thomas Bernard is pastor. His building held up very well, although one long, high wall that runs along the playground area had fallen down into the play yard. You can see us standing above the playground on a balcony of the church talking about it. Pastor Bernard repeated many times how every member of his family, including himself, escaped being injured or killed only by seconds. His wife had just walked out the door of an office that was totally destroyed. He recounted similar stories for his children and himself. The same was true of the fallen wall at the schoolyard. It would have surely crushed many children had it happened when school was in session.

I asked Pastor Bernard how people in Haiti interpret the earthquake and how he ministers to them. I was able to video his response with my little camera. You can see it here on YouTube. There are many people who believe this happened because Haiti is a country where Voodoo is practiced. Of course, Jesus responded pointedly to those kinds of self-righteous attitudes (Luke 13:1-5).

We made arrangements to travel back to the boarder of the Dominican Republic with two Nissan Patrols and a truck. Missionary Ted Krey and his teammates were able to purchase about a ton of food, and the hospital in Jimani on the Dominican side of the boarder brought a carload of medical supplies. Upon arrival to the Haitian side of the boarder the convoy from the Dominican Republic crossed over to the Haitian side and we transferred the goods to the trucks that Haitians would use to transport the supplies back to Port-au-Prince and also Jacmel.

After the materials were transferred, we said our goodbyes to the Haitian pastors and members who traveled with us and crossed back into the Dominican Republic. You can see some pictures of our visit to Haiti at http://picasaweb.google.com/lcmsworldmission.

It was after dark by the time we got on the road in the Dominican Republic, but we had about a seven-hour drive ahead of us. We needed to travel back to Santo Domingo, and then up to Santiago, where the LCMS Mission Team is located. The difference between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is dramatic in terms of the material progress of the nation. The roads were all very good; there were full-service gas stations with restrooms, snack shops, soda machines, etc. Around 2:00 a.m. we finally arrived at the hotel in Santiago, but it was hard to get to sleep. It was at least 3:30 a.m. by the time I was able to fall asleep.

On Sunday we had time to rest until 6:00 p.m. when we proceeded to the mission office for a worship service for the assessment team, the LCMS Missionaries, and several Dominican staff people who had also been in Jimani to assist at the hospital there. Rev. Matt Harrison preached a sermon of comfort and encouragement to us based on Mark 15. Later that evening, Rev. Ed and Cherie Auger arrived from the Cayman Islands where Ed serves as a missionary. They are long-time friends of ours and have years of experience in Latin America. They will stay in the Dominican Republic to lend assistance, at least for the time being. Surely they will add a great deal of knowledge and experience to the ongoing efforts to provide relief to Haiti.

Monday morning the entire assessment team met at the mission office with the LCMS Missionaries and Dominican staff to debrief on our impressions and the recommendations that we would make for those who have now to lead the relief efforts. There are immediate needs of food, water, medical supplies and temporary shelter (tents). The LCMS Mission Team is going to continue to provide these kinds of supplies to the Haitian Boarder to transfer to the Haitian Pastors. LCMS World Relief and Human Care is sending medical teams, beginning this Saturday. The first team will fly into Santiago, and then go by chartered flight to Jacmel. Additional teams will be going in the future. Another serious need is for spiritual consolation and encouragement. This is very important. We often think that if we can get food and water in, we have provided for their basic needs. But the emotional and spiritual needs is very great, not only for the hurting people in general, but for the Haitian pastors and leaders who are under the burden of having to minister under intensive stress and pressure.

The disaster in Haiti continues to unfold, and it will be with us for a long time. At least a year, and probably more like 3-5 years, as there is so much rebuilding that is needed. Pastor Kessa even believes that Port-au-Prince should be relocated to a new location where it can be rebuilt properly. It is hard to say how something like that would be implemented or who would lead such an effort. Right now I’m not sure who is in charge of Haiti. The U.S. military is there, the U.N. people are driving around in their Land Rovers, there are many relief agencies working there, but I don’t know who is actually coordinating efforts. The president of the country has been quite silent.

I thank LCMS World Relief and Human Care for asking me to make this visit with them, and President Wenthe and Dr. Rast for giving me permission to be away from my duties at the seminary for a week to do so.

To conclude, I want to say a word of deep appreciation to our LCMS missionaries in the Dominican Republic, the Dominican staff there of very capable and committed people, to the LCMS medical team that was working in Jimani, and especially to the Haitian Lutheran pastors who are working so hard and with such dedication to provide both spiritual and material aid to the people of Haiti.

(Note: Besides the photos that I have already pointed you to, I hope to post more of my own as soon as possible).

p.s. On Monday afternoon Missionary Danelle Putnam took those of us who wanted to go to a government home for severely handicapped children where Danelle and some of the members of the Lutheran church in Santiago are working. We were asked to spend time with the children, even just talking to them and caressing them, as many of them were lying in their beds, unable to move or communicate. We spent a couple of hours there just talking to the children, playing with those who were able, and visiting and encouraging the staff of the home. One child, who looked to be bed ridden, was just lying in his bed staring off into space. As Rev. Harrison went to his bedside and started talking to him, the child just sat up, grabbed him around the neck, and climbed up into his arms. I also spoke to a woman who was there to visit her son. Her son is severely mentally handicapped and is the size of a three year old, but his mother said he was 18 years old. The staff says that she comes every day to visit her son, but in the case of most of the children, nobody knows who their family is.

Again, the work of our LCMS Missionaries and the local Lutheran Christians there is impressive.

Haiti Report #5

2010-01-28T17:20:00.001-08:00

January 24
Report #5

Dear Friends,

Much has happened since I was last able to make a report, but I will try to briefly summarize the past two days.

On Saturday we arose early in Jacmel to make the long journey back to Port-au-Prince and then up to the Jimani in the Dominican Republic. As we passed through Jacmel we saw again the great destruction apparent everywhere. Virtually everyone is afraid to spend the night in their homes and so tent cities are set up everywhere. As we were getting organized at Pastor Kessa's home for the return two U.S. Air force C130s flew directly overhead to land at the small Jacmel airport. I could see the JATO (jet assisted take off) bottles attached to the bottom of the wings, as the airport is rather small for such a large aircraft. They would be used for takeoff after the supplies were unloaded.

There was another aftershock Friday evening, which was not felt to strongly in Jacmel, but during the trip back to Port-au-Prince the additional damage to the mountain road we would need to take was clearly evident. In fact, the road was very close now to being impassable due to landslides and other places where the road was sliding away, down the mountainside. Again, passing through the town of Leogane the damage was extensive. On the outskirts of town we saw a huge U.S. Navy helicopter that had landed on an open field. Marines had secured the area and another large group was unloading the supplies. Everything was being done in an orderly manner so that all the people waiting in the parameter would get their share.

Port-au-Prince is still in disarray, but, at the same time, there are street vendors everywhere, and many people who seemed to be going about their business. Yet, still, in 3-4 piles of rubble we saw people gathered around digging with their bare hands thinking that there might be someone alive underneath. We drove through many areas of Port-au-Prince and for the first time we saw a large digger, operated by a man who appeared to be American, scooping up rubble and loading it into dump trucks. That is the only piece of heavy equipment we saw being employed during the entire day. The U.S. Marines seemed still to be active patrolling the city in their Hummers. Many U.N. Nissan Patrols and Toyota Land Cruisers were driving around, usually with one person behind the wheel in his/her air-conditioned chamber, but not carrying any supplies or additional people that I could see. There were places where we could smell the smell of dead bodies, but there was no way to get to many of the places it was coming from without heavy equipment.

I have to cut is short now because my time of the computer her is running out. I have some pictures that eventually I should be able to share once I get back to the U.S. There is still much to say about our return to the border with the DR. The courage of the Haitian Lutheran pastors is incredible, and the work of our LCMS and Brazilian missionaries is absolutely outstanding. We can be proud of the way they are responding. Today the assessment team is going to meet with the Mission Team here and discuss next steps for immediate action. Please keep this meeting in your prayers. There are many issues that need to be addressed.

God's peace,
Douglas Rutt

Haiti Report #4

2010-01-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

January 23
Report #4

Hello all, this is what I received from Douglas tonight:

Today was a day that was beyond description. After meeting with Pastor Marky Kessa and Pastor Thomas Bernard, we headed together for Port-au-Prince. We were unprepared for what we would see there. The newscasts and other things we have seen on TV just do not do justice to the destruction and the death that we saw there.

We saw thousands of people living in what I would call refugee camps wherever was an open space, such as a soccer field, or even a cemetery. Most of the people have lost about everything that they have. Their only hope is to find food and water during the day at one of the locations that is passing it out.

I can’t even begin to count the number of buildings that were flattened like a stack of pancakes. We saw so many we almost became deadened to it and didn’t even take any more pictures. One can only imagine how many people are still buried in the rubble—surely many thousands. In at least five places people are still digging through the mess looking for their lost loved ones.

We passed refugee camp after refugee camp in the area around Carrefour on the way to Jacmel. Helicopters were taking some of the more critically injured to the huge hospital ship anchored a safe distance from the shore.

This evening we arrived in Jacmel only to see an equal amount of destruction. People spending the night out in the streets for fear of more earthquakes or aftershocks. We visited a camp on the soccer field here where thousands of people were preparing to spend the night. We then went on to one of Marky’s churches where about 100 people were preparing to spend the night. The faith of these people is an inspiration to us. Like Paul and Silas when in jail in Philippi, they were singing hymns and praising God for His goodness in Christ Jesus.

Aid in the form of water, food and shelter is still urgently needed here. My observation is that while we did awesome work bringing our US Marines here, the response of the international community has been rather weak. So much more is needed and could be done. Please support the efforts of LCMS World Relief.

We are overnighting in Jacmel.

Doug

Haiti Report #3

2010-01-28T17:17:00.002-08:00

January 22
Report #3

Good Morning,

This is Deborah writing on Douglas's behalf. He called this morning to give an update.

They arrived in Jimani last night and spent the night in a big house that someone has lent to the relief effort. There were many doctors and nurses staying there also. They all slept on the floor. He said that missionaries Pastor Ted Krey and Walter Ries looked totally exhausted so please keep them in your prayers.

They crossed the border into Haiti a little before 6:00 this morning. It was a great blessing that the cousin of the vicar who works with the mission in Dominican Republic is the commander of the police station at the border. He has been a great help to them. They are currently waiting for Marky Kessa and others from the Lutheran Church in Haiti to meet them. They have heard they are on their way. They will meet and then decide what to do from there, they are less than an hour from Port-au- Prince.

He noted that there are many semi-trucks full of water, food and gasoline going back and forth across the border so help is getting to the people.

God's blessings to you all and please keep Douglas and the team in your prayers!

Deborah for Douglas

Haiti Report #2

2010-01-28T17:17:00.001-08:00

January 21
Report #2

Good morning,

This is just a quick update as we prepare to depart Miami for the Dominican Republic. A couple of the team members arrived last night and I believe others will be meeting us at the Miami airport. Some of those we thought you were going to come are now not going to accompany us.

Our flight for Santo Domingo departs at 12:20 PM. Thanks to the help of some people in Fort Wayne I have about two suitcases full of medical supplies to take with me.

I hope I will be able to send and updates from the Dominican Republic, but that is certainly not guaranteed. Internet is somewhat precarious there, especially the place where we will be staying by the border. From Haiti it will be impossible.

Thank you, for all of your prayers.

In Christ,
Doug

Sent from my iPhone

Haiti Report #1

2010-01-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2010
Report #1

Greetings from the Fort Wayne airport!

I will do all that I can to keep people informed about the progress of our visit to the Dominican Republic into Haiti. I believe that communication will be possible while in the Dominican Republic, but once in Haiti, we will probably not have access to anything other than a satellite cell phone that some in our party may have with them.

It looks like everything is a go for a smooth flight from Fort Wayne to Chicago and then from Chicago to Miami. I will spend the night in Miami, and then depart for the Dominican Republic around noon tomorrow. In Miami I will meet with the other members of our party.

From there we will get to Santo Domingo, and then by land to the border with Haiti. I understand that along the border the LCMS missionaries have two teams that are working there. One team is a medical team, and the other is there for logistics and spiritual care. Thousands and thousands of Haitians are streaming across the border from Haiti into the Dominican Republic for food, water and medical care, thereby straining very much the Dominican resources also.

It's about time to board the plane here in Ft. Wayne so I'll sign off for now but will try to get something more back to you later on in the day.

Please keep our trip in your prayers.

In Christ,
Doug

Sent from my iPhone

Assessment Team Visits to Haiti

2010-01-27T06:29:00.000-08:00

From January 19 to January 27, I have been a part of an assessment team working on behalf of LCMS World Relief and Human Care and LCMS World Missions. Reports from the trip to Haiti will be posted soon at this site. In the meantime, you can also check a couple of sites, such as the LCMS World Relief Website and the LCMS World Mission Website. You are also invited to visit the website of Concordia Theological Seminary. I'll soon post some of my own pictures and videos from the trip with my reports.

The "Conservative" Nature of Two-Thirds World Churches

2009-11-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

Writers on the status of Christianity in the 21st Century, such as Dr. Philip Jenkins in his book The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South, have pointed out that Christians in the "Majority World" tend to be much more conservative in their approach to Scripture than those churches from North America and Europe that first brought them the gospel. I commented on this reality in an article on the Future of Christianity that I wrote back in 2004. As Jenkins' title indicates, believers in the new center of gravity of world Christianity are much more likely to be "Bible believing." That means they will take the Bible more seriously in terms of the theology it presents, as well as the moral issues it teaches.

Recent actions by two Lutheran Church bodies have resulted in scathing criticisms that are coming from, in one case, a Lutheran communion in Kenya, and in another case, from the Lutheran Churches of the Baltics. These churches have paid a price for their faith, and I suspect that they find the mental and theological gymnastics that are being toyed with by certain church bodies reprehensible.

You can read, in their own words, the following documents:

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN KENYA ON THE CHURCH APOSTATE

MESSAGE FROM THE MEETING OF THE BALTIC LUTHERAN BISHOPS

Churches in the "Majority World" certainly must look with wonderment at the way in which churches in the U.S. and Europe seem to be playing footloose with the Scriptures and the faith handed down to them. Not only are more and more missionaries coming from the Global South to the U.S. and Europe, but churches from the Global South and other areas where the church has experienced persecution are more and more exercising theological leadership.

Interesting times!

The Questions of Majority World Christians

2009-07-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

There is a great article by Todd Johnson that helps put some numbers to the tremendous global shifts that are taking place in Christianity worldwide. It is "Christianity in Global Context: Trends and Statistics."
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=2719604

We simply must take stock of the fact that Christianity is not a western religion. But it also means more, because it means we must begin to look at how our theological resources in the west can be brought to bear on the questions being asked by Majority world Christians. While the questions may seem strange to us, or perhaps resolved or unimportant, they are issues of importance to our fellow Christians in other parts of the world.

Twenty-five years ago I remember leading a home Bible study in a low-income barrio of Guatemala City. The topic of discussion, which I didn't even plan on addressing that evening, revolved around the eternal destiny of the Mayan descendants of our hosts! Was it true that God simply condemned them to eternal punishment because it took so long for the Christian message to reach Mesoamerica? While we may be able to provide answers, doing so in a way that takes seriously the perspectives of relatively new Christians is a challenge. Mark Noll mentions the same question in his new book, The New Shape of World Christianity. I guess it's never been such a pressing question for me. After all, my family has been Christian for generations. Bohemia has been evangelized since the martyrdom of Prince Wenceslaus in 929, and Germany even earlier. But newer Christians are asking different questions than we might be asking.

Another factor that shapes the kinds of questions newer Christians in the Majority world are asking is the struggle to just get by day-by-day that they are experiencing. In many cases, Majority world Christians are struggling just to survive. To a hungry man, or a sick woman with no medical help available, the question of God's immanent involvement with our world is of pressing importance. If God can act, why not ask him to and expect him to, even in surprising ways?

It's not that we don't have answers to these kinds of questions; it's just that we sometimes find other questions more fascinating. Once I have finished Noll's book, I'll post a short review.

World Christianity and Lutheran Mission in Venezuela

2009-07-05T09:29:00.001-07:00

This is being written from a little hotel room near the international airport in Caracas, Venezuela. This past week I had the privilege of teaching a course on homiletics to a group of about 20 enthusiastic students, young and old. The first time I visited Venezuela was 13 years ago, when I was here for a course on Pastoral Theology. For some reason my introductory lesson in which I mentioned Luther's comments on the making of a theologian--Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio--really resonated with the participants then--some of the more seasoned pastors from that day and age reminded me of that this year too!

Oh, let me get this over with right from the start: Hugo Chavez says hi to all of you. I can't count how many people ask me to greet him or asked about how he is doing as I prepared for this trip.

The Lutheran Church in Venezuela is a small but committed group of Lutheran Christians who are very enthusiastic and hard-working. Their love for God's word and the sacrifices they are willing to make for the sake of the gospel is inspirational.

I was thinking about the spread of Christianity around the world, especially in terms of the idea that Christianity is often considered a "western religion." I've often begun my presentations on missions in Latin America by asking where the first Lutheran church in the Americas was founded. One time a young lady argued with me vigorously that it was Perry County, Missouri. That wasn't even close. My home church in Fort Wayne, Indiana--St. Paul--was founded before those guys from Dresden even set sail for Missouri.

I only ask that question to point out how much we have allowed ourselves to believe that the United States is the center of the universe. Actually, there is some evidence that the first Lutheran Church was founded in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

In fact, it is often stated that the first Lutheran (and protestant) church was founded in the 1530s when Charles V, in need of funds, gave the right to explore the region of Venezuela to the Welser family. There is little evidence that they established a Lutheran church in Maracaibo, Venezuela, as has been asserted by some, or that the Welsers were even Lutheran. However, even if they were Lutheran and had established a Lutheran church, today there remains no remnant of that church. If it was established, it survived only a short time since the activities of the Welsers in Venezuela lasted only a few years (1538-1546).

On the other hand, one must wonder. If one had more time, one might investigate this history further. The first stop in doing so, of course, is to check with my resident expert, friend and longtime colleague, Dr. David Coles. I wrote the following to Dr. Coles:

"David, I know I’ve asked you about this before. I ran across the following statement: “The fathers of both the governor of the colony, Ambrosio Alfinger, and the Vice-governor, Nicolás Federmann, signed the Augsburg Confession.” Do you know of anything that backs that statement up? Thanks. Doug"

David did not disappoint, although, being the careful historian that he is, he did not try to insist that the Lutheran church was, indeed, established by the Welsers. Here is his infomrative response to me:

"Hi, Doug:
Thanks for your query about these two representatives of the Welser Bank who governed a part of Venezuela in the 1520s and 1530s. I checked my notes for my course on the history of the church in Latin America, and I do have a reference from Pablo Alberto Deirós, Historia del cristianismo en América Latina (Buenos Aires: Facultad Teológica Latinoamericana, 1992), page 592, that Federmann’s father (he doesn’t mention Alfinger’s father) signed the Augsburg Confession. Of course, when one looks up the signers of the Augsburg Confession in the Book of Concord, one only finds the names of seven noblemen and the mayors and councils of Nuremberg and Reutlingen. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that by 1530 there were a lot of other cities in Germany that supported the theology of the Augsburg Confession, as we can ascertain by reading Bernd Moeller’s and Steven Ozment’s monographs on the Reformation in the cities, and my notes also indicate that Alfinger and Federmann were from the city of Ulm, which supported the Lutheran Reformation. So, there must have been a way for these other German cities to show their support for the Augsburg Confession, and, who knows, the fathers of Federmann and Alfinger may have been members of the municipal council of Ulm who had ushered in the Reformation in their city.
The arrival of the Germans to Venezuela and the signing of the Augsburg Confession were events that happened in close chronological conjunction:

a) In 1528 the Spanish government made a contract with two Germans, Heinrich Ynger and Hieronymus Sayler, authorizing them to pacify the area from Maracaibo to Puerto La Cruz. According to the contract, the Germans would also colonize the area and take fifty German miners there in case precious metals were found.
b) In 1529 Ambrosius Alfinger, Ynger’s brother, landed in Coro with seven hundred men and eighty horses.
c) In 1530, while the Diet of Augsburg at which the Confession was presented was in session, Ynger and Sayler transferred the rights they had over the Venezuelan territories to Anton and Bartholomäus Welser, owners of the noted international bank that also by that time had interests in India, and thus apparently were in business with the Portuguese. The headquarters of the Welser were in Augsburg, and my impression is that the Welser, unlike the other great German banking family, the Fugger, sympathized with the Reformation.
This episode is thought-provoking for at least two reasons:

a) Charles V and his successors in Spain were about to embark on a vicious circle of indebtedness to foreign bankers that would lead to repeated bankruptcies of the Spanish government. Was he already becoming dependent on loans from the Welser, and did such a factor affect his attitude towards the pro-Lutheran electors at the diet?

b) During the early 1530s a number of Germans and Flemish people settled in the Spanish colonies in America (not just in Venezuela) before the Concejo de las Indias restricted free entry of these ethnic groups into the American colonies in 1535. Hence the appearance in the inquisitorial records of people with names like Andrés Alemán.

Peace,
David"

It's an interesting thought, to be sure. It's hard to say how much the gospel might have infuenced these German adventurers. Did they really bring the cross with their sword, as the Catholic conquerers did. There really is a lot to learn from the history of Christianity in Latin America. In our seminaries it seems we only hear a part of the story. Soon I'll present some interesting "suggested reading" on the history of Christianity that helps us understand Christianity as a global phenomenon rather than focusing almost entirely on Northern Europe and North America.

Another interesting point that Dr. Coles makes is his reference to Charles V embarking on a "vicious circle of endebtedness." Sound familiar?

Until next time! I've got to try to get some sleep before my 2:30 a.m. wakeup call.

The Return of Religion: Currents of Resurgence, Convergence, and Divergence- The Cresset (Trinity 2009)

2009-06-21T15:14:00.001-07:00

This piece by African theologian Lamin Sanneh is an excellent reflection on the status of Christianity around the world. It provides further analysis of what I presented in the short YouTube video.

The Return of Religion: Currents of Resurgence, Convergence, and Divergence- The Cresset (Trinity 2009)

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The Future of Christianity

2009-04-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with a little video presentation that I am preparing, I'm offering this piece on the Future of Christianity. There has been a lot of discussion on this topic lately, and, as always, a proliferation of crazy articles in all the mainstream news magizines, such as Newsweek, Time, etc. Hopefully I'll be able to update this and offer more reflections soon.

Contending for the Faith

2009-04-01T13:56:00.001-07:00

Speaking of the Gospel in the 21st Century, you should check out this site. You'll find information on a great conference hosted by Concordia Theological Seminary.

Globalization I(a)

2009-03-09T17:52:00.001-07:00

I promise not to do this on a regular basis, but Mical's remark made me think about the article below.

As an aside, did you know that it was a British missionary, Thomas Payne, who showed the now famous Hiram Bingham the ruins at Machu Picchu? Brinham is the inspiration for the adventurer Indiana Jones. The trouble is, he basically was a con-man (read Yale professor) who took advantage of others for his own personal benefit and for the advancement of his career, eventually even becoming governor of Connecticut, to that state's shame. Too bad he didn't know that historians would eventually catch up with him. The Peruvian government is now suing Yale University, which refuses to return the thousands of artifacts Bingham"borrowed" from Machu Picchu as he plundered the archeological site. You can see what even National Geographic, who had a part in the episode, said about it here: http://ngm.typepad.com/stones_bones_things/2008/12/hiram-bingham-w.html

At any rate, the article below is an interesting reflection on the work of Christian missionaries.

http://www.zimbio.com/Machu+Picchu/news/archiveMatthew Parris
The Times
December 27, 2008

http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/comment/ columnists/ matthew_parris/ article5400568.ece

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.

At 24, travelling by land across the continent reinforced this impression. From Algiers to Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, then right through the Congo to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, four student friends and I drove our old Land Rover to Nairobi.
We slept under the stars, so it was important as we reached the more populated and lawless parts of the sub-Sahara that every day we find somewhere safe by nightfall. Often near a mission.

Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers - in some ways less so - but more open.

This time in Malawi it was the same. I met no missionaries. You do not encounter missionaries in the lobbies of expensive hotels discussing development strategy documents, as you do with the big NGOs. But instead I noticed that a handful of the most impressive African members of the Pump Aid team (largely from Zimbabwe) were, privately, strong Christians. "Privately" because the charity is entirely secular and I never heard any of its team so much as mention religion while working in the villages. But I picked up the Christian references in our conversations. One, I saw, was studying a devotional textbook in the car. One, on Sunday, went off to church at dawn for a two-hour service.

It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were. What they were was, in turn, influenced by a conception of man's place in the Universe that Christianity had taught.

There's long been a fashion among Western academic sociologists for placing tribal value systems within a ring fence, beyond critiques founded in our own culture: "theirs" and therefore best for "them"; authentic and of intrinsically equal worth to ours.

I don't follow this. I observe that tribal belief is no more peaceable than ours; and that it suppresses individuality. People think collectively; first in terms of the community, extended family and tribe. This rural-traditional mindset feeds into the "big man" and gangster politics of the African city: the exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader, and the (literal) inability to understand the whole idea of loyal opposition.

Anxiety - fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things - strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won't take the initiative, won't take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders.

How can I, as someone with a foot in both camps, explain? When the philosophical tourist moves from one world view to another he finds - at the very moment of passing into the new - that he loses the language to describe the landscape to the old. But let me try an example: the answer given by Sir Edmund Hillary to the question: Why climb the mountain?
"Because it's there," he said.

To the rural African mind, this is an explanation of why one would not climb the mountain. It's... well, there. Just there. Why interfere?
Nothing to be done about it, or with it. Hillary's further explanation - that nobody else had climbed it - would stand as a second reason for passivity.

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/ spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change.
A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

Globalization: Part I

2009-02-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

When we think of “globalism” we may think it is a fairly recent phenomenon. We think of things such as the “global village,” or “multi-national corporations,” or the “global economic crisis,” or the ease of travel and communication that we enjoy today.

It could safely be said, however, that biblical Christianity is the first globalized movement in the history of the world. The global and universal meaning of the message of Scripture was made evident when God said to Abraham “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). All the families of the earth would be blessed through what God was doing in and through Abraham and his offspring. While it has been argued that the Jewish believers of the time before Christ did not see their task as going out into the world to convert people to the one true faith, it is clear that the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is the God who created the heavens and the earth, and who sought to bring all mankind back to himself.

The Hebrew Scriptures were written in a time of polytheism and animism. Polytheism is the idea that there are many gods—family gods, gods for a particular clan, territorial gods, gods of various aspects of nature, etc. Animism is the idea that all things, even those things we would call “material,” have an animus, that is, a spirit to them. The spiritual forces that are all around us, according to this belief, can be good or bad or neutral, they can be personal or impersonal, but most importantly, they must be manipulated properly to assure success and well-being in life. It is important to understand that in the midst of this world of polytheism and animistic beliefs, the Hebrew Scriptures are unique in that they speak of One True God, who is Creator of the world.

The Hebrew Scriptures are replete with references demonstrating this God is not of just a territory or clan, but is meant for all. For example, Psalm 67 says:

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Clearly this God’s “saving power” is to be made known “among all nations,” so that “all peoples” are to praise him and “all the ends of the earth fear him.” What we learn in the Hebrew Scriptures is that there is One God, who is over all, who is to be worshiped by all, who is to be respected by all. His dominion is global, and more importantly, his message of grace and love is for all.

The global nature of Christianity becomes even more explicit in the pages of the New Testament, where Christ says that the church is to go into all the world to give witness to the gospel—“in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Christianity is a global movement, and the message of God to the world has always made that point.

Next we will need to talk about globalism today and what it means for the church.

The Spread of the Gospel in the 21st Century

2009-01-01T14:36:00.000-08:00

THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL IN THE 21st CENTURY:
Trends and Challenging Issues

To start this blog rolling, I have decided to reflect upon a series of issues that are having a profound impact on Christian mission in today’s world. The ten issues that will be discussed in the coming weeks are the following.

Globalization
Urbanization
Technology
Shift in the Center of Gravity” of Christianity
Innovative Ways to Reach "Closed" Countries
World Brought to the U.S. (and other major world centers)
Move from Constantinian Age to “Apostolic Age”
Age of Tolerance and Religious Pluralism
Changes in the Funding of Mission
New Kind of Missionary

I welcome any comments on the selection of issues.