Trend and Countertrend

Last week, I was quite taken by the daily report on National Public Radio regarding why so many young people are leaving formal religion. Highlighted were six young people in their early thirtys who had grown up in various religious traditions (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, etc.) but for different reasons had turned their back on God and faith in general.

At first I thought it was another broadcast intended to flaunt yet another example of why our culture doesn't need religion anymore.  But as I listened more carefully, I realized the program was actually responding to a study by the Pew Charitable Trust on Religion in America.  The research results are indeed sobering as statistics show America is becoming more and more a secular nation. More than one quarter (28%) of American adults now say that they have left the religious faith that they grew up with as a child. From the nation’s entire population, 16.1% say they are unaffiliated with any religion – the highest percentage in our nation’s history.  And for the younger generation, those between 18 and 30, the percentage is now 25%.

As sobering and perhaps discouraging these statistics might be, there is another part of the story which I’m quite sure will not get covered on  NPR. It has to do with the counter trends in the rest of the world.  Because for every American who might have left his faith, there are two or three in the non-Western world who are embracing religion—especially evangelical Christianity.

These charts taken from Patrick Johnston’s book, The Future of the Global Church give dramatic testimony to this fact.

On this bar graph, the rates of growth of several religions are compared to the overall world population growth rate (black bar.) Although it is interesting that both the Hindu and Muslim religions are growing slightly faster than the world population rate, the Evangelical, Independent and Pentecostal branches of Protestantism eclipse it by 200% to 300%.

These set of three graphs look a bit complicated, but the main thing to note is the shift from left to right. From 1960 to 2000 to 2050, they dramatically indicate that as Western nations (left side of center line) are losing members of all branches of Protestantism (different colored rectangles), the right side (Latin American, Africa, Asia) are more than making up for that loss. 

Although young people may be turning their back on God in our country, the search for spiritual meaning and truth is certainly alive and well in the rest of the world.

Aren’t you glad He’s got the WHOLE world in his hands?

Newtown’s Child, Bethlehem’s Child

Dr. Scott Rodin is a good friend and a fellow participant in a small men's group here in the Spokane area. He also has his own blog (http://wp.kingdomlifepublishing.com) and from time to time we do "blog sharing."  This morning, Scott's message was so powerful that I asked if I could share it here on my website.  I hope you are as impacted as I was by is words of both encouragement and admonition.

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In this brief blog I use the term ‘Newtown’s child’ to refer to all of the loss we suffered in Newtown, Connecticut one week ago today.

I’ve heard people say that the tragedy of Newton’s child was made all the worse because these children died so near Christmas.

I disagree.

The hope, the peace and the comfort for the families of Newtown’s child are embodied in the coming of Bethlehem’s child.

To every child whose life was ended in Newton, Bethlehem’s child says, ”Your story is not over, for because I live, you will live also.”

To every grieving parent who laid Newton’s child in a grave this week, Bethlehem’s child says, “I am the resurrection and the life, those who believe in me will never die.”

To a nation and world that grieve for Newtown’s child and are overwhelmed by the presence of evil in our midst, Bethlehem’s child says, “In this world you will have trials and tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

If ever there was a year for us to draw nearer the manger and kneel in wonder and adoration at Bethlehem’s child, it is certainly this Christmas.  Only there will sorrow be turned into hope, and grief give way to comfort and peace.

But there is more.

There is no ‘silver lining’ in this tragedy. We will look in vain to find one.  Evil offers no such thing.  Evil is evil to the very edge of its influence and presence.  This Christmas must remind us that Bethlehem’s child came not to help us find some good in the presence of evil, but to execute its utter destruction.

As we cry out, ‘when will this evil be ended?’, Bethlehem’s child cries out, ‘it is finished.’  Evil’s fate was sealed on the cross.

How can this be in the face of this demonstration of evil’s growing grip in our nation?  The defeat of evil happens through the small, daily victories of God’s people, who live and pray and minister and work in his name and with the power he promised us.

Our response to the loss of Newton’s child must be to claim the promise that is ours in Bethlehem’s child, and with that promise, to change the world where we live.  We are the hands and feet of Jesus.  We are the ambassadors of Christ, called to be salt and light wherever we go.  We have been given the authority to drive evil out of our homes, our schools, and our communities.  Will we claim it?

We are not left defenseless in this battle.  Our weapons against the enemy are forgiveness, love, generosity and truth. Against these, all evil is rendered powerless. And they are each available to us in unending abundance because of Bethlehem’s child.

Today we look back and remember the lives that were lost, six adults and twenty children who will never be forgotten.  All of us will ponder Newtown’s child in our hearts this Christmas.  But we must even more look forward to Tuesday, to the coming of Bethlehem’s child, believing that the final victory over evil and death that is the promise and product of this divine birth, will one day in some unimaginable way swallow up the grief and overwhelm the sorrow of the loss of Newtown’s child.

This one tiny birth brings to the world the truth of the real state of evil, and empowers us, even in the shadow of Newtown’s child, to proclaim with the deepest conviction, ‘O death where is your sting?  Oh grave, where is your victory?’

Oh come, let us adore him.

Dr. Scott Rodin | December 21, 2012 at 8:36 am

Korea Reflection #2

During the past few years, my impression of the state of the church in Korea was one that typically put us here in the United States to shame. Huge mega-churches attracting tens of thousands, 5:00 A.M. prayer meetings every day of the week attended by all members, incredibly dedicated “saints” of the faith spending weeks and even months fasting on prayer mountain retreats—all were reasons why I have held Korean Evangelical Christians in the highest esteem.

One of the impressive church structures in Seoul, Korea

However, I was quite surprised during my visit there last week to learn that all is not quite as positive as I thought. More than one Korean church leader affirmed that the church growth trend in their country has not only slowed but is in serious decline. Ten years ago, the Operation World Handbook estimated the Protestant population of the country to be mostly Evangelical, near 30%. Today, the Handbook claims Evangelicals are more like 16%. I was also surprised to learn of some mega-church not keeping up with mortgages paying the price for impressive yet complex architectural designs of their massive buildings. On top of that, church leaders admit they are losing the battle of attracting the younger teen and twenty-something generation of Koreans.

Why the changes? Here are some of the conclusions I heard expressed:

• A preoccupation with a “bigger is better” mentality has begun to back-fire as a people become disenchanted with big buildings and big programs that are not always impacting them personally.
• A national increase in materialism, fueled by the successes of corporate giants like Samsung and Kia, have wooed interest away from spiritual things to what you can do instead on the latest cellphone or automobile GPS system.
•  Authoritarian leadership, buoyed up by a deep cultural respect for elders, has prevented appropriate mentoring of younger leaders or healthy succession planning.
• A shallow personal holiness has been the result of folks maintaining appearances of piety (prayer vigils, meeting attendance, etc.) instead of maintaining a commitment to a true, inner spiritual transformation.

However, there is still plenty to praise our Korean brothers and sisters for. Despite a slowing growth trend, South Korea is still the country with the second largest expat missionary force deployed around the world—over 20,000. People maybe skipping out on prayer meetings, but by in large, most Korean Christians still exhibit an incredible, dedicated prayer life. Regardless of political maneuvering, South Korean Christians are poised and ready to reach out to their brethren across the border in North Korea, just as soon as the doors are open for them to minister there.

There is certainly much we can learn from our Korean friends both from emulating what is exemplary in churches that are dynamic as well as how to avoid what maybe causing others to experience a downward trend in vitality.

Korea Reflections #1

Last week I attended an international consultation in South Korea.  I’m not allowed to share a lot of specifics about what happened and who I met because of security agreements. But there are some key facts, figures and information I can share.  Here are some of the highlights:

Key Information:

Despite the amazing effort of global missions during the past two decades, of the 16,565 people groups in the world, 7,107 are still considered to be unreached. The population of those UPGs is 2.9 billion equaling 42% of the world population.

Key Stories:

• Of the million-plus Beja people found in Sudan, there is not a single known Christian.
• In China, 250 thousand Kyrgyz-speaking people are living along high mountain passes on the border with Kyrgyzstan with no one attempting to reach them with the Gospel.
• The Cushitic people are a dominant people group in the Horn of Africa. In the past six years, over 6000 churches have been planted among these people, 85% of which are small house churches meeting at least once a week.
• Ministry workers in Islamic Africa have been shocked to discover that the “man of peace” they seek out to be the core of a new church plant is often a Muslim Imam.

Key Networks and Resources on Unreached People:

• PeopleGroups.org – Mobilizing interest in UPGs
• JoshuaProject.net – Statistics and data on UPGs
• CreateInternational.com – Source of online media and media training
• StoryRunners.com – Using storytelling for oral cultures
• Call2All.org – Network and resources focused on UPGs
• GCPN.info – Global Church Planting Network
• LinkingGlobalVoices.com – The network of networks

Key Book:

Miraculous Movements by Jerry Trousdale – documenting the amazing results that are occurring around the world with Church Planting Movements

Heading to Ethne 2012

I have just arrived in Seoul, Korea for a major consultation occurring this next week. Called Ethne 2012, it is the third major meeting of global mission leaders who are focused on strategies for completing the Great Commission.

What makes this particular meeting stand out from others I’ve been to, is that it was initiated and envisioned more by non-Western mission initiatives than by North Americans.  As their own literature states:

The Ethnê vision is to see “Peoples Glorifying God among All Peoples”. The Ethnê purpose is to Celebrate Great Commission Progress; to Assess (and Connect) Resources and Needs; and to Accelerate Progress in Reaching the Unreached

In fulfilling its vision and purpose, Ethne strives to exemplify two characteristics. The first is trusted relationships - many non-Western participants have said that this is the first global network where they feel like equal partners. The second is that Ethne strives to be practical - the goal is do something together, not just talk.

Previous Ethne meetings that occurred in 2006 in Bali, Indonesia and in 2009 in Bogotá, Columbia made significant progress identifying families of unreached people groups that were least impacted by evangelism and church planting efforts. As a result, key networks have now sprung up in those regions thanks in part to the partnership and dialog from these Ethne meetings.

At this event, the objectives will go further in identifying more regions of the world that need proactive mission activity plus provide plenty of workshops designed to develop useful plans of action. As it says above, the theme will be to DO something together and not just TALK about it.

For me personally, it will be fun to attend a meeting for once without a specific agenda or responsibility that I have to fulfill. Instead, I’m here to learn as much as I can about the latest dynamics fueling these indigenous mission thrusts and hopefully discover new ways that my role as mentor, encourager and consultant for national ministry leaders might be used. I also hope to become introduced to some of my key colleagues working with OC International as a means of getting to know them and their ministry work better.

Stay tuned to this blog for some further updates as the week goes on.

My First eBooks!

I’m excited to announce that I've just launched my very first eBooks that are now available on Amazon for down-loading onto any Kindle reader.

For some twenty years, I've had a tradition of writing a Christmas short story and then reading it to my family on Christmas Eve.  Often, I've taken settings from places I've visited during my mission visits to countries around the world. Others stories are from imagined scenarios surrounding the first Christmas in Bethlehem. All of these are great for reading out loud in a family setting, so I hope many of you will give them a try. And, of course, please tell your friends!

Below are my first three titles which you can find by clicking on the following links. Stay tuned for more that I hope to up-load to Amazon in the coming days and weeks.

The Boy Who Missed Christmas

A teenage shepherd boy encounters a young stranger near Bethlehem and recounts to him his bitter experience of missing the excitement of the first Christmas. To his surprise, the shepherd discovers who his new friend really is.

Amazon price: $.99

http://www.amazon.com/The-Boy-Missed-Christmas-ebook/dp/B00A2YA2TI

The Tale of the Odd Soldier

A mysterious stranger, a magical tree and a set of toy soldiers combine in this Christmas fairy tale to teach the eternal lesson that it is better to give than to receive.

Amazon price: $1.99

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tale-Odd-Soldier-ebook/dp/B00A4TMBZ4/

 The Bridge

A heart-warming story of an orphan boy in nineteenth-century Paris who is searching for a clue to his lost family. His kindness to strangers pays off during a fateful encounter on his way to celebrate Christmas Eve mass at Notre Dame Cathedral.

Amazon price: $2.99

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bridge-ebook/dp/B00A8NGHYW

By the way - I want to give special recognition to my wife, Anita, who has done an amazing job of editing and cleaning up my stories to get ready for publication and also my son, Nathaniel, who has created all the cover art for the titles above.

eLibraries: Multiplied!

“We could use 200 more of these!”

That was the reply I received after supplying seven digital libraries on electronic tablets last August to a ministry leader working with house-church leaders in a key country in the Middle East (see blog post of Sept 16). Thanks to generous partnership help from Mission Aviation Fellowship Learning Technology Division and the Digital Bible Society, the basic content for these eLibraries has already been set up. So, fulfilling this new request should not be that difficult. It will mean acquiring the tablets, loading the memory card with the digital resources, and testing them out before sending them off for use.

 And the amazing thing is that I believe I can do it all for $300 each!

For that price, I can purchase a brand-new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, a micro SD card, a protective case, and a power adapter and still have enough to pay a young local geek to help me with the project.

One Challenge International (OC International), my mission organization, has already set up a special project account for me so that I can start accepting donations toward these units. To contribute, you first click on this link https://donate.onechallenge.org/, fill in the designation, “eLibrary Project #830451,” and submit your credit card information.  All donations will be fully tax-deductible.

Having been in mission work for some thirty-five years, I don’t think I've ever seen a ministry investment opportunity that has any more bang-for-the-buck than this project. Just think—for a $300 investment, someone can supply a turn-key, ready-to-use, personal digital library to a house-church leader that will contain two versions of the Bible, a Bible commentary, eight custom-picked books on Christian living, a lay-counselor’s guide, a hymnbook, two CDs of worship songs, an audio New Testament and videos of the Jesus Film, The Jesus Story (for children), and Magdelena (for women)—all in the local language.

Two hundred is a big number, but I intend to prepare these eLibraries for delivery in batches of ten to twenty as the funding resources come in. I certainly hope you’ll consider becoming an investor in this exciting project.