Day: August 3, 2016

In this issue: The highest guru

1. INDIA: Celebrating Christ as the Highest Guru
2. NEPAL: Witch Doctor Refers Man to Church Planter
3. INDONESIA: Younger Leaders Unite
4. WEST AFRICA: Slave Wives of the Gods
5. IRAN: Azeri Christians Arrested

Greetings,

Recently, while hanging out with coworkers where I tutor, I felt like the foreigner who never fits in. Yes, they spoke English, but I didn’t understand the way they used the words. Their subculture may have begun in 1996, but the recently launched smartphone app has helped it take off and is even helping people fall in love with their own cities. One Texas seminary used it to hold a two-hour party that attracted 200 people, six of whom came to Christ. It’s not just an American thing, either; people are over the world are joining in. Our friend Stephen Davies, former missionary to Burkina Faso but now in London, is hooked. Have you guessed what I’m talking about?

This and the stories below got me thinking about the gospel, church, and culture. The Church and Culture blog reports on a study of America’s four Gods and another on religious literacy (take the test). American or not, how well do you know your own culture and its subcultures? Do you tend to assume we have the same values, or speak the same language?

With any culture, we are also challenged to ask what can (or should) be used as a bridge for the gospel, and what can’t or shouldn’t? Missiologists differ on the answers. Is it contextualization, or is it syncretism?

Our first story, below, provides a good case study. What do you think? Feel free to share your comments on our website or Facebook page.

Writing from the North Country (which has a culture of its own),

Pat

Source: Global Worship, July 20, 2016

Image: Christ the Guru. Oil painting by M.P. Manoj, based on the original drawing by Joy Elamkunnapuzha, Christian Musicological Society of India.

A friend in India writes:

Happy Guru Purnima! [annual day in India and Nepal to honor your guru and focus on their teachings]. Prabhu Yeshu ji mere sadguru he! (Lord Jesus is my sadguru, true/highest teacher).

This day (from one night to the next night) is a day when millions of people in India and Nepal (and some in the diaspora) will be focusing on better learning and following the teachings of their gurus (guru = one who dispels darkness, and can be used for a secular teacher, and especially for religious and musical teachers). Many shishya (devotees/disciples/students) will wake up at 4am to begin, meditating on his teachings in the early morning, worshiping him throughout the day, and studying his teachings throughout the day. Many will be fasting as they study their guru’s teachings throughout the day. Many will meet together with other devotees, and talk with others about his teachings, or sing songs of devotion to him.

» Read full story, with worship honoring Christ as highest guru. If this is your cup of chai (or that of those you hope to reach), check out the Yeshu Bhajan Digital Songbook (praise songs to Jesus in Hindi).

Source: Empart, June 2016

Every day [Mannba’s family] faced problems. Life was difficult for them. Evil spirits used to torment the family. There was always sickness in the family. The family went to the village doctors many times but could not get any healing. They then approached the witch doctors, one after the other, but still there was no relief. There was no peace in the family. In frustration, Mannba returned to the witch doctor and asked what he and his family should do to receive deliverance from their torment.

Mannba was astonished when the witch doctor admitted defeat and told him to find a church planter and let him pray, and then there would be deliverance.

…Neighbors saw change in the family and opposed them, saying, “Why do you serve another god?” Still the family continued to serve the Lord Jesus and grew strong in their faith. Mannba’s father went to India and worked hard to earn money. He earned four lakh and built a beautiful house. The villagers were jealous and claimed that he was possessed by an evil spirit.

» To better understand these dynamics, read full story.

» See also a video about God’s power at work in Bible translation in Nepal (Wycliffe), well worth 39 minutes of your time, and Traditional Healers and Modern Medicine in Madagascar (Al Jazeera), a unique look into the life of another “traditional healer” and what he claims he can and cannot do.

Source: Lausanne Movement, July 2016

The 2016 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG2016) will be held August 3-10 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Occurring once a generation, this is the third such gathering that the Lausanne Movement has convened. Previous gatherings held were in Singapore in 1987 and Malaysia in 2006 which mobilized and connected emerging evangelical influencers for global mission. They also led to many lifelong friendships and ministry partnerships.

YLG2016 is a gathering of 1,000 younger leaders from over 160 countries who will connect, pray, and discern together God’s leading of their generation for his global mission.

The Lausanne Movement is eager to connect evangelical influencers across all generations to work together towards the vision of the gospel for every person, an evangelical church for every people, Christ-like leaders for every church, and kingdom impact in every sphere of society.

» Read full story. (I am way beyond “young,” but following these leaders on Twitter blesses me! Love the passion.)

Source: Women Without Borders, July 20, 2016

Thousands of West African girls as young as four years old are still being offered to the gods, as atonement for some offense committed by a relative. Trokosi, which literally means “slave wives of the gods,” are part of a 300-year tradition in the Upper Volta region that encompasses Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Until the 18th century, fetish priests accepted livestock as offerings by families who were fearful of retribution by the gods. But then the priests decided a young virgin would be more useful for domestic and sexual purposes.

A slave’s term of service is supposed to last from three to five years, depending on the nature of the sin that is being atoned for. However, most families of trokosi cannot afford the very high redemption price required to buy their daughters back. They also live in real fear of the gods’ displeasure. If a priest dies, the woman becomes the property of his successor. But if the girl dies without her family redeeming her, they must replace her with another virgin. They must also replace her if she runs away. The cycle can continue for generations.

Through the efforts of non-government organizations many shrines have now stopped the practice of trokosi and over 3,000 women have been freed and rehabilitated. In 1998 Ghana passed a law banning the practice. However, thousands of girls still remain in slavery—some some estimate up to 35,000 in the four countries.

» Read full story.

» See also Afghanistan: Sold for a Herd of Cows (Institute for War and Peace Reporting).

Source: Mohabat News, July 18, 2016

Iranian Intelligence Police arrested three Christians from Baku, Azerbaijan, during their visit to a house church in Tehran. During their attack, they arrested one of the Iranian members of the house church as well.

Reports obtained by Mohabat News indicate that three Azeri Christians were arrested on June 24, 2016, during their visit to Tehran, Iran’s capital. These believers entered Iran as tourists to visit their fellow Christian brothers and sisters. The Iranian Intelligence Police raided a residential house in the outskirts of Tehran where they were visiting and arrested them all, along with one of the Iranian believers. They were immediately transferred to an unknown location.

Initial reports indicate that the three Azeri Christians arrested are members of “Word of Life” church in Baku, Azerbaijan, who had been invited to Tehran by a group of Iranian believers to visit their house church.

The wives of these Azeri Christian men have not been able to contact them since their arrest. Only one of the three men has been allowed to make two very short phone calls to his wife in Azerbaijan, during which he said, “All three of us are in good health and are held together in one place.”

» See full story and an additional report from Middle East Concern.

» You might also read The Story of Iran’s Church in Two Sentences (The Gospel Coalition) and another story from Mohabat news about the Catholic priest recently killed by ISIS militants and the French Muslims who attended his funeral mass to show solidarity. Both are inspiring.