09 March 2008
A wise word
Friday March 14, 2008 Filed in: Fathers'
Voice
One of the things we love about working with the
company we do is our godly leadership! Here is what
was shared with us this month and we thought it was
very powerful:
As a lover of history, I was excited. . . first time to set foot on the continent of Europe and the first time to walk a biblical site.
Istanbul is one of the few cities in the world that I have long wanted to see. Before it fell to Turkish Muslims around 600 years ago, it had been the greatest city in Christendom for 1000 years. The Aya Sofya, or Church of Divine Wisdom, was probably the largest and most beautiful building in the world. It is still breathtaking after 1500 years. We went below ground to see an amazing marvel of engineering - one of the cisterns that are 1500 years old that can hold millions of gallons of water to supply the city during drought or siege. Anne loved walking through the Grand Bazaar with its 4600 shops, probably the inspiration for indoor malls. She did not buy a single thing, perhaps due to prices rather than lack of interest. Our hotel was just a few hundred yards from the old church where the Council of Chalcedon met about 1600 years ago to confirm that Jesus was fully human and fully divine.
Ephesus is the best preserved city in the eastern Mediterranean. We walked around a city where Paul planted churches for 3 years. We stood in the theater where Paul wanted to address the crowd, but his friends prevented it. The theater is still in good shape and seats 25,000 people. One can imagine Paul’s desire to proclaim Jesus to that throng, but the crowd was too frenzied to hear him. The city is generally recognized as the home and resting place of the Apostle John. The city dried up in later centuries due to the harbor silting up; it now sits 6 miles from the sea. What a reminder that time marches on and things change…but the good news of Jesus continues to spread and change lives.
Such a visit causes some reflection since this once great Christian area is now decidedly Muslim. Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire were partially overrun, then weakened, and finally overcome by Muslim armies over 700 years. When you read the history, however, you see a picture of moral decadence, political intrigue, and nominal faith that led to an internal meltdown. The Eastern Orthodox church tied its mission to its political influence. Their approach to evangelism is still largely based on attracting people to participate in worship, which they believe results in a mystical union with God. This approach did result in Christianity spreading among the Russians and even the Vikings. These more primitive peoples were awed by the beauty of worship in great churches like the Aya Sofya. However, in much of the Byzantine Empire the common people who lived far from the great cathedrals had little understanding of the gospel and looked upon the Christian elite as oppressors. It is sad that the gospel had such little impact on the common people where Christianity was tied to such political, military, and cultural power. Perhaps it was too closely tied to the politics and economics of the urban elite who were inadequately changed by the grace proclaimed in their midst. If only Byzantine Christianity had been more closely associated with the spiritual power to transform lives rather than the political power of an empire!
My reflection about power and Christianity is not just relevant to the world 500 or 1500 years ago. We are in an era of history that is post-colonial. From 1492-1942 much of the world was colonized by Western “Christian” powers. In Catholic lands, like the Philippines, colonialism and conversion went hand in hand. In Protestant colonies, colonialism and Christian witness were often antagonistic, such as in Indonesia and Malaysia. It appears that Protestants were more motivated by trade than faith. In the end, missionaries followed the trade routes and brought the gospel. Many assumed they had to make Englishmen or Dutchmen of the locals before they came to Christ. Whether intentional or not, Christianity did follow colonial power. The positive side is that the church was established around the globe, but the negative side is that in some parts of the world, the church is still considered a left-over of colonial control.
Today we are facing a time of continued decline of Western power. “M” visas, common in the colonial era, are becoming more and more rare. The West, including America, is no longer the overwhelming power in the world. Even the “soft” power of American culture is identified with MTV instead of Christian values such as honesty, humility, and justice. The dollar has lost buying power that it may never recover. To be American may become even more problematic or at least less advantageous in the years ahead.
Although it may make our personal lives less comfortable, is this loss of power necessarily detrimental to God’s purpose of redeeming a people from every nation?
- Not if it means we come in humility and meekness, instead of pride and prejudice.
- Not if it means our lifestyles and relationships are closer to the people we come to reach.
- Not if it means a separation of the message of Christ from Western cultural baggage.
- Not if our willingness to sacrifice and even suffer draw attention to our gospel.
- Not if it means we plant churches that are biblically sound and culturally appropriate rather than just poor replicas of a Western denomination.
- Not if it means we live more dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit rather than any earthly power.
In Zechariah 4, God warned that men often miss what He is up to. We should look for his hand to work in ways that are different from the ways of men. “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.” declares the Lord of Hosts. We should not despise the days of small beginnings that the world likely overlooks. Across PacRim small beginnings are happening among people groups that have never had them before. Let us be people who trust God and walk in his power.
As a lover of history, I was excited. . . first time to set foot on the continent of Europe and the first time to walk a biblical site.
Istanbul is one of the few cities in the world that I have long wanted to see. Before it fell to Turkish Muslims around 600 years ago, it had been the greatest city in Christendom for 1000 years. The Aya Sofya, or Church of Divine Wisdom, was probably the largest and most beautiful building in the world. It is still breathtaking after 1500 years. We went below ground to see an amazing marvel of engineering - one of the cisterns that are 1500 years old that can hold millions of gallons of water to supply the city during drought or siege. Anne loved walking through the Grand Bazaar with its 4600 shops, probably the inspiration for indoor malls. She did not buy a single thing, perhaps due to prices rather than lack of interest. Our hotel was just a few hundred yards from the old church where the Council of Chalcedon met about 1600 years ago to confirm that Jesus was fully human and fully divine.
Ephesus is the best preserved city in the eastern Mediterranean. We walked around a city where Paul planted churches for 3 years. We stood in the theater where Paul wanted to address the crowd, but his friends prevented it. The theater is still in good shape and seats 25,000 people. One can imagine Paul’s desire to proclaim Jesus to that throng, but the crowd was too frenzied to hear him. The city is generally recognized as the home and resting place of the Apostle John. The city dried up in later centuries due to the harbor silting up; it now sits 6 miles from the sea. What a reminder that time marches on and things change…but the good news of Jesus continues to spread and change lives.
Such a visit causes some reflection since this once great Christian area is now decidedly Muslim. Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire were partially overrun, then weakened, and finally overcome by Muslim armies over 700 years. When you read the history, however, you see a picture of moral decadence, political intrigue, and nominal faith that led to an internal meltdown. The Eastern Orthodox church tied its mission to its political influence. Their approach to evangelism is still largely based on attracting people to participate in worship, which they believe results in a mystical union with God. This approach did result in Christianity spreading among the Russians and even the Vikings. These more primitive peoples were awed by the beauty of worship in great churches like the Aya Sofya. However, in much of the Byzantine Empire the common people who lived far from the great cathedrals had little understanding of the gospel and looked upon the Christian elite as oppressors. It is sad that the gospel had such little impact on the common people where Christianity was tied to such political, military, and cultural power. Perhaps it was too closely tied to the politics and economics of the urban elite who were inadequately changed by the grace proclaimed in their midst. If only Byzantine Christianity had been more closely associated with the spiritual power to transform lives rather than the political power of an empire!
My reflection about power and Christianity is not just relevant to the world 500 or 1500 years ago. We are in an era of history that is post-colonial. From 1492-1942 much of the world was colonized by Western “Christian” powers. In Catholic lands, like the Philippines, colonialism and conversion went hand in hand. In Protestant colonies, colonialism and Christian witness were often antagonistic, such as in Indonesia and Malaysia. It appears that Protestants were more motivated by trade than faith. In the end, missionaries followed the trade routes and brought the gospel. Many assumed they had to make Englishmen or Dutchmen of the locals before they came to Christ. Whether intentional or not, Christianity did follow colonial power. The positive side is that the church was established around the globe, but the negative side is that in some parts of the world, the church is still considered a left-over of colonial control.
Today we are facing a time of continued decline of Western power. “M” visas, common in the colonial era, are becoming more and more rare. The West, including America, is no longer the overwhelming power in the world. Even the “soft” power of American culture is identified with MTV instead of Christian values such as honesty, humility, and justice. The dollar has lost buying power that it may never recover. To be American may become even more problematic or at least less advantageous in the years ahead.
Although it may make our personal lives less comfortable, is this loss of power necessarily detrimental to God’s purpose of redeeming a people from every nation?
- Not if it means we come in humility and meekness, instead of pride and prejudice.
- Not if it means our lifestyles and relationships are closer to the people we come to reach.
- Not if it means a separation of the message of Christ from Western cultural baggage.
- Not if our willingness to sacrifice and even suffer draw attention to our gospel.
- Not if it means we plant churches that are biblically sound and culturally appropriate rather than just poor replicas of a Western denomination.
- Not if it means we live more dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit rather than any earthly power.
In Zechariah 4, God warned that men often miss what He is up to. We should look for his hand to work in ways that are different from the ways of men. “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.” declares the Lord of Hosts. We should not despise the days of small beginnings that the world likely overlooks. Across PacRim small beginnings are happening among people groups that have never had them before. Let us be people who trust God and walk in his power.