Combating Real Halloween Terrors

The RevGals weekly Friday Five meme this week is all about Halloween. It's a fun meme, and I encourage you to check it out and play along if you like. I was going to join in, but after attending the International Justice Mission fund-raising dinner last night in Houston, I'm still pondering the problem of real, intractable evil in this world. This IJM video I found on You Tube, above, is the same video that introduced the program last night.

Last August I heard IJM's president and founder Gary Haugen speak at the Presbyterian Global Fellowship meeting in Houston and wrote about it here. Last night, El Jefe and my niece and nephew joined me and a crowd of other Houstonians to hear his message that the problem of aggressive human violence against the poor and powerless of the world is pervasive and can be combated with legal means.

As a former prosecutor of child abuse cases, I am inspired and moved by their work. As a Presbyterian and Calvinist, I see concrete evidence of Total Depravity (as in T.U.L.I.P.) in the stories told about IJM's work freeing people from slavery and children from the child prostitution trade in the Far East. Interestingly, most of the tips IJM receives to investigate come from missionaries of all denominations.

Back in the day when I was a trick-or-treater, we used to collect donations for UNICEF as well as candy as we worked our way around the neighborhood. This Halloween why not join El Jefe and I in making a donation to IJM to help children who suffer unspeakable evil not from imaginary ghosts, witches, and ghouls, but at the hands of their fellow man?

PGF--Conclusion and Reflections

Saturday, the Houston Chronicle's Saturday Religion Section had notices from several Presbyterian churches about guest preachers who were speakers at the PGF conference. Michael Frost, the founding director of the Centre for Evangelism and Global Mission at Mowling Theological College in Sydney Australia was the guest speaker at my church on Sunday.

Last year when the PGF had its first conference, many people wondered what this group was really all about. Its leadership is predominately from the evangelical, conservative wing of the PCUSA so there was speculation that, like the New Wineskins proved to be, it was a "stalking horse" of sorts for the formation of a splinter group or denomination. In the context of church politics after the GA of 2006, that concern was understandable.

What then is the PGF all about? Michael Frost stated it explicitly in his sermon on Sunday:

Just as God reveals Himself through Jesus as the sent and serving God, His Son and Spirit sends us into the lives and needs of others. We need to abandon the church attitude of "come to us and see Jesus" for going into the world to represent Jesus and to invite others to be disciples. The issue is about the stance we adopt to the world around us.

The purpose of the PGF seems to be like that of the plowman, who dangles the goad in front of the ox so that it will keep dragging the plow through the earth. (Not my metaphor, I'm borrowing it from Michael Frost.) PGF is trying to encourage and empower individuals and congregations to represent Jesus in the world and invite others to be disciples.

The evidence of the last few decades should be enough to convince anyone that churches that take the "come and see" stance are not likely to be around a few decades from now. We need to find, in the words of Paul, "a yet more excellent way." That's what I think the Presbyterian Global Fellowship is trying to be about. Checkout their website here and the PGF blog The Outbox, here and see what you think.

Friends, I've been as guilty as anyone for spending more time, energy, thought and prayer on the PresbyPolity wars than on the Great Commission. Isn't it high time that we change our priorities and lay down our verbal swords and legally-drafted shields for a while?

PGF Report 3-A Voice From the Middle East

"I am a Christian Palestinian. I am your forgotten brother," said Father Elias Chacour who is the Melkite Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Galilee and a three time Nobel Peace Prize nominee as he began his address to the PGF.

I read his book Blood Brothers which recounts the story of his life and the little known struggles of the Palestinian Christians in the land of Israel where they are literally caught in the crossfire between the Palestinian Muslims and the Jews. Even more compelling is the story of the Mar Elias school he founded, which now includes a university, where 4,500 students of all faiths (60% are Muslim) study side-by-side in the land of Israel. " Life is very different from what the press represents it to be," he observed in his presentation to the Presbyterian Global Fellowship's Friday session.

Father Chacour believes that education is the key to peace and justice for the Palestinians and that the Palestinian Christians can be the bridge to peace between the Muslims and the Jews in Israel. But he warns, " Immigration is threatening Christianity to disappear from the Holy Land. There are only 147,000 Palestinian Christians left in Israel. "

What can American Christians do? "Go and visit the Palestinian Christians who are feeling isolated and marginalized," urged Father Chacour. "Be the friends of the Jews, but do not be the enemies of the Palestinians. You must be the common friend."

He closed with an appeal to the Presbyterian Church, saying that we have something the world needs--we are not part of the "weird separatist fundamentalist subculture." "You are in the lifesaving business," he concluded.

Some in the audience were not comfortable with his appeal because they thought it critical of Israel. I think he is remarkably unbiased, considering the fact that his family was forcibly removed from their land by Israeli authorities when he was nine years old at the time of the establishment of that state. A few years ago I heard an extensive presentation about the good work of the Mars Elias Educational Institutions, and that wasn't discussed in any detail at the PGF. I wish it had been, because I'm sure Israel, the Middle East, and all of us need to learn that it is possible for young Muslims, Jews and Christians to study, work and play in peace in the midst of the most intractable conflict in the Middle East.

PGF Report 2--Voices of Africa

El Jefe and I have a very close friend who grew up in Nigeria. His father was killed in the Biafrian War and his impoverished mother managed to get him accepted at the local mission school, run by Presbyterians from Canada. He subsequently made his way to the US where he entered the University of South Carolina for premedical studies. The local Presbyterian Church there adopted him, and his sister, and made it possible for him to get his medical degree. He has established free medical clinic in his home village and members of that church are among the doctors and nurses who accompany him on his missions there. He has always says that he is a proud "product" of the mission school. Today he is sought-after internist in Houston and an elder in his Presbyterian church.

Which brings me to the testimony of two other Africans who spoke at the PGF conference about the importance of overseas mission. Urgessa Biru grew up in Ethiopia in a Muslim family and clan. He came to faith in Christ because of his education in a Christian mission school. Although he was estranged from his family after his conversion, they have since reconciled and he has returned to his hometown to build better relationships between Christians and Muslims. Dr. Amon Kasambala is a minister of the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa and is now Director of Partnership Development and Africa Initiatives for Focus on the Family Africa.

Both of these men echoed the story we have heard for years from our Nigerian friend: the importance of partnership in mission with people in Africa. Dr. Kasambala said, "We've lost our inspiration and motivation" for mission in the West. "When a congregation closes its doors on mission, it is heading to its demise." He also stressed that there is no shortcuts in mission, but rather effective mission partnership requires a long-term commitment.

Here is Dr. Kasambala's prescription for effective mission partnership:

1. Equal fellowship
2. Reciprocal interaction
3. Mutual respect and interdependency
4. Love for each other
5. Keen interest in what each other is doing, and offering to help in practical ways

Truly we have as much, or more, to learn from our African friends as we have to teach and share.

PGF Report 1--International Justice Mission

I'm planning to write a couple of posts about the Presbyterian Global Fellowship meeting in Houston this weekend based on my own experience and observation. For more comprehensive coverage of this event, check out the Presbyterian Outlook and Presbyterian Layman reports which I'm sure will be posted since both Jack Haberer and Parker Williamson were in attendance.

Gary Haugen, President of the International Justice Mission, made a powerful presentation about the work of his group. A former federal prosecutor, Haugen was appointed by the United Nations to investigate the Rwandan genocides in Africa. Haunted by his experiences there, he founded the IJM which is an international human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery (yes it still exists) and oppression.

Haugen believes that the root cause of suffering for much of the world's poor is violence. Violence is intentional, scary and causes deep scars. Therefore in his opinion the traditional mission approach of the church--food, medicine and shelter-- are not effective. Christians must confront the violence in the world that manifests itself as sexual violence, police abuse, illegal detention, forced labor and violent land seizures.

The problem is that Christians have not prepared their minds for action against violence, but IJM has discovered that with the power of God, violence can be stopped.

My whole being will exclaim, "Who is like you, O Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them."
Psalm 35:10

Haugen says that the vulnerability of the victim contributes to violence. If the poor and oppressed have a consistent strong advocate, the oppressors fade away because they are not brave. IJM's goal is to change the fear equation by finding those trapped in these violent circumstances, bringing in local authorities, rescuing them from their situation and then providing extensive aftercare services to help them recover. This is a dangerous mission for those who are involved in the investigations and rescues and some of them have been subjected to physical violence themselves.

Among the examples of people rescued by IJM was a family in India who had been held in forced labor in a brickyard. Undercover work by IJM led to the intervention of local authorities and the freeing of dozens of families who had been trapped in slavery by the owners of the brickyard. A couple of other examples involved very young girls who had either been sold or kidnapped by prostitution rings in southeast Asia. The foreign predators who flew thousands of miles to exploit them were also charged and punished thanks to the work of the IJM.

As a former prosecutor of child abuse cases, this is a mission that really speaks to my heart. Benefit dinners for IJM are being held in several cities this fall, including Houston. I'm planning to attend.

Quick PGF Report

center

Today was spent at the Presbyterian Global Fellowship Conference in downtown Houston. About 800 people attended from all over the country. The convention center is so large that it seemed like we were rattling around in it!

I'm stuffed full of information from plenary speakers and workshops and will write in more detail about them later this weekend. But in the meantime, here are some quick highlights of the day:

~ Hearing Gary Haugen describe the work of the International Justice Mission which rescues people from slavery and the sex trade all around the world;
~ Rev. Dr. Li Mei Lan of China pastors two churches--of 8,000 members EACH--proving that it takes a real woman to be a minister in China!
~The plea on behalf of Palestinian Christians from Father Elias Chaucor,Archbishop of Galilee of the Melkite Greek Orthodox Church;
~John Ortberg's analogy of life as a Monopoly game which was compelling but too long to attempt to recreate on a blog.
~There was no arguing about ordination issues, amendments to the BOO, or overtures--just lots of talk about bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world in need.

Goodnight, friends. More later.

Distracted by Distractions

Last night I went to the Presbyterian Coalition's service of repentance at Grace PC in Houston. The Coalition is meeting in Houston in advance of the Presbyterian Global Fellowship's meeting later this week, and I was invited to attend their service.

It was very interesting--they said that the order of worship was a traditional form that was used by Calvin. There was lots of singing of traditional hymns, which I loved. It's always uplifting to sing with a congregation full of ministers who sing with gusto!

Unfortunately I found myself so distracted by concerns at home that I just couldn't focus on the service when it became clear it was going to last much longer than the hour I expected. Since I was sitting at the back, I finally crept out of the service, but felt like a heel. Then I was late for the next thing I was going to.

Now I'm repenting of being distracted by my own distractions and resolving to focus better next time.

PGF blogger meetup?

Presbyterian Global Fellowship is having its meeting in Houston next week--August 16 through the 18th, to be exact.

More than 100 members of my church (Memorial Drive PC in Houston) are registered and the presbytery staff is also planning to check in. I'm looking forward to attending a national PresbyConfab that focuses on mission rather than sex for a change! I'm also hoping some of the PresbyBloggers will be attending.

The schedule says that Friday night's dinner is "on your own in Houston", so if any of you would like to meet up with other PresbyBloggers, leave a comment or email me (link through the "about me" link in the sidebar for my email address) and I'll reserve a table for us at Josephine's--a nice Italian restaurant in walking distance of the Brown Convention Center.

Hope to see some of you there!

Why Two Mission Conferences?

This morning I'm wondering why we have two Presbyterian-sponsored mission conferences being sponsored within two months of each other.

Presbyterian Global Fellowship's second annual conference, "Inside Out", is August 16-18 in my very own hometown of Houston, Texas.

The PCUSA is organizing a mission conference," Mission '07: A Celebration of Grace", October 2-6 at the General Assembly's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

The obvious difference between the two conferences seems to be that while PGF emphasizes the importance of mission in church congregations the PCUSA conference focuses on denominational mission emphasis. That's not surprising. I suspect that the PCUSA conference was organized in response to the first PGF conference last year, which was pretty successful.

It doesn't make sense to have two competing Presbyterian mission conferences. Most pastors and lay leaders interested in mission will have to make a choice between which one to attend. A comparison of the conference websites shows that PGF's conference is more extensive and well-organized than the denominational conference. It makes me wonder whether the PCUSA considered contacting the PGF leadership and offering to help set up workshops or speakers to showcase the denomination's mission efforts at the PGF conference, since the PGF initiated this effort last year. That would not only save duplication of effort and resources but be a helpful model of unity for the Presbyterian church as a whole.

I'm afraid that the answer is that the PGF conference is seen by the powers-that-be in Louisville as just for the evangelical/conservative/missional wing of the church and that there is a need for a separate conference for denominational progressives/loyalists. I hope I'm wrong and they just didn't think about investigating the possibility of working together. Mission ought to be something we can all agree on.

Meet Me at PGF?

Presbyterian Global Fellowship is having a big confab in Houston August 16-18. Yeah, I know. August is not exactly the month recommended by the Chamber of Commerce for visiting Houston. But the meeting is downtown at the George R. Brown Convention Center which is fully air-conditioned. Plus downtown has an intricate tunnel network underground that is also fully a/c'd so you can walk all over without sweltering.

It would be a great time for a Presbyblogger meeting among those attending! Here's the conference website with all the information about the conference and how to register. The speakers and events look really interesting.

I'm planning to go, so let me know if you decide to attend and I'll organize a Presbyblogger Lunch or Dinner for all of us. You can leave word in the comments below or email me directly by clicking on the "about me" link on the sidebar which takes you to my email link.