Category: Family

Looking Back Over 2017

On By 2tim2.1-3In Christmas, Family, Life on life discipleship, New Years, Small group ministry, Teaching and TrainingLeave a comment

I don’t believe we have ever had a year quite like this one!  We celebrated some pretty significant milestones, worked “away from home” extensively, moved (again!) and continue to help provide leadership for our local congregation and lead weekly small group Bible studies in our home. I apologize for our lack of communication this year.  Our crazy schedule this year has had me struggling just to keep up.  But, I do want you to know that you are never far from our thoughts and prayers.

Allow me to share a bit from a slightly modified Philippians 1:3-12

“We give thanks to our God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in our every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. We are sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is right for us to think this way about all of you, because we have you in our hearts and you are all partners with us in grace, both in our teaching ministry and in the defense and establishment of the gospel.  For God is our witness, how deeply we miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And we pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.  Now we want you to know, brothers and sisters that what has happened to us has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel.”

Here are some of the highlights from the year.

FAMILY:

  • On May 6, we gained a beautiful daughter-in-love, Rebecca Mullinax Johnson. Our son, Stephen and his lovely bride now live in Euless, TX.
  • While there for the wedding, we were able to visit our daughter Sarah, son-in-law, Beau, and the two grandest of grandsons, Owen (now 3) and Elliot (soon to be 2). They now live in Princeton, TX.
  • Mark and Caron were able to spend a short time with each of their mothers, both of whom have had several falls, broken bones, and other health challenges this year.
  • In September, we moved to a new apartment. This marked our 12th move in our 32 years of marriage, 7 of those in the last 16 years. I guess it’s no wonder Mark always asks, “Caron, do you know where I can find _____?”
  • In October, we celebrated our 25th anniversary as career missionaries with the IMB. We have been in Brazil all that time (except for the occasional furlough and stateside assignment).

MINISTRY: (Thank you for making all this possible through your prayers and financial support.)

  • In looking back over the calendar, there were 152 day this year where one or both of us were traveling, working away from home! No wonder we are tired!
  • Mark has traveled extensively this year, teaching week long “intensive” courses, where students receive 40 hours of lecture (an entire semester’s worth of material) in one week. Sometimes he writes the course content he teaches in Portuguese; other times, he is the translator for visiting American professors.
  • Mark has mentored masters level students and has provided orientation for 7 of these students working on their dissertations. Some of his students have included senior leadership in the Brazilian Baptist Home Mission Board, as well as pastors and Brazilian Home Missionaries.pic 3
  • Mark accompanied Dr. David Platt, president of the IMB on part of his recent trip to Brazil and had the privilege of translating for him at “Crist-o-landia”, a neighborhood formerly known as “crack-o-landia” (due to the high number of drug addicts who live on the street). Dr. Platt and Fernando Brandão, President of the Brazilian Home Mission Board, were there to give a message of hope to those on the streets and share about the transformative power of the Gospel through Jesus Christ.
  • Mark lectured extensively this year on the 500th anniversary of the Great Reformation, with materials he wrote concerning Baptist History of Missions in light of the Great Reformation. He also has written numerous articles (in Portuguese) for publication in Brazil.
  • Mark taught on-line classes for several different theological institutions, and is currently preparing materials for upcoming classes to be recorded early in 2018.
  • Caron also has been working with Brazilian students who are writing their dissertations in English. She has had the privilege of walking alongside these dedicated students studying and writing in a second language. Caron serves as a reader and editor for these students.
  • Caron traveled on a monthly basis, teaching Theological English at the Litoral Baptist Seminary in Santos, São Paulo.
  • Caron prepared materials for the on-going weekly Bible study that meets in their home, and has had the privilege of mentoring and discipling 8 ladies on a one-on-one basis, in addition to the on-going ministry of the small group.
  • We were saddened by the recent loss of a dear friend (member of our small group) who passed away after battling cancer, and have walked with his family and friends as we have grieved together.

Finally, here are some upcoming ministry opportunities we want you to be aware of for 2018. Please pray about how you can be involved with us. If interested in more details, send a message to caron.johnson@gmail.com

  • We are looking for one or two single girls (min. age 22) or a young married couple (no kids) who would be willing to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) for a semester. No experience necessary. We will provide the training you need.
  • We are looking for a church who would be willing to help host a ladies’ weekend event at the International Congregation of our church. We are looking for a key-note speaker for 2-3 events. We would love to have 2-3 ladies come (a different one could speak at each event) and also have ways for a Sunday School group or the entire church to be involved in helping to host this event for English speakers in the city of Curitiba.
  • We are looking for pastors, seminary students, and laymen interested in partnering with us in teaching initiatives in several different locations in Brazil in 2018.

We wish each of you the Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mark & Caron

Happy Holidays!

On By 2tim2.1-3In Christmas, Family, Life on life discipleship, New Years, Thanksgiving, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Since we missed wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year earlier, please know that even in our silence you were never far from our thoughts and prayers.

Typically the last quarter of the year is our busiest time of travel, and that was certainly the case in 2016. Since the end of August we were traveling away from home for 97 days, in 15 different cities and in 4 different countries.

You may wonder what we do that takes us away from our home so often. In addition to our local on-going ministry involvement, which we have written about extensively in the past, we have also been involved in numerous training events across the Americas. These training events would not have been possible if it had not been for the generous contributions that many of you have made over the course of year to the International Mission Board. Through regular tithes and offerings (in Southern Baptist churches which participate in the Cooperative Program), through one-time gifts, and through your contributions to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, we have had the financial resources to make this kind of wide spread training a reality in 2016. For that, we say “Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.”

Teaching truth, transforming lives and touching the world—that’s what we have been focusing on in 2016.

Looking back on the year 2016, we can actually count 925 people whom we have taught, mentored and/or discipled. These are not just numbers to us. They are real people. In addition to teaching content, we have spent time together, shared a meal or a cup of coffee together and prayed together. If you keep up with us on FaceBook, Twitter or Instagram you can see that we have taken lots of pictures together as well. These pictures are more than just something to fill space on our social media accounts. They serve as tangible reminders of our precious time together. I think Paul sums it up best in Philippians 3:3-7a

3 I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, 4 always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace…(HCSB)

So, as we have taught truth, we have done so with the vision of lives being transformed—making a difference—and the impact those transformed lives have on the world around them. That, my friends, is something worthy of giving thanks to God for. Truly, it does give us great joy as we pray for those whom we have had the privilege to walk alongside during the year 2016.

As we look back on 2016, we have so much to be thankful for in our own family as well. We added a new member to the family with the birth of our youngest grandson, Elliot James Landers last January. Its hard to believe he will celebrate his first birthday here soon. We also had the privilege of meeting the Mullinax family in November, the parents of Rebecca, our soon to be “daughter-in-love” (Wedding scheduled for May of 2017). We were able to spend a couple weeks of vacation with our kids, grandkids and both our mothers (and even some of our extended family) around Thanksgiving. Returning to Brazil in time for Christmas, we were blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas Eve with precious Brazilian friends and open our home on Christmas Day to others who were far away from their families.

Teaching truth, transforming lives and touching the world—that’s what we continue to focus on in 2017.

Just because it’s a new year, doesn’t necessarily mean our focus needs to change. Granted, some of the details change—location, people involved, topics, etc. But, the purpose remains the same. We continue to use the skill set, talents and abilities God has equipped us with to reach those whom He brings into our path with the Good News, the life transforming news of the Gospel.

How can you be involved?

  1. Continue to pray for us as we make plans for 2017 and the new and exciting challenges in the months to come. (More about that next time.)
  2. Ask the Lord of the Harvest how you can be more personally involved in the ministry of your local church, in your community, and in support of local, national and international missions. Maybe 2017 is the year for you do something you’ve never done before. Ask Him!
  3. Don’t wait to “go somewhere new” to get started. It’s a new year; it’s a good time to begin a new commitment. There is no greater investment you can make than to invest in discipling a new believer. Begin with your most natural relationships: family members, friends, and neighbors. Then ask your pastor if there are others new to your church that you can help to disciple as well.

Check out the article Mark just wrote, “3 Ingredients for Discipling New Believers in Any Context”. You can access it through this link from International Mission Board:

https://www.imb.org/2017/01/03/training-new-believers-in-any-context/

 

Waves

On By 2tim2.1-3In Family, Prayer, Small group ministry, Uncategorized2 Comments

I love the beach. I love to watch and listen to the waves. Usually I find that relaxing. Sometimes however, when you are in the ocean the waves can hit you harder and faster than you expect. The opposite of relaxing, that kind of experience can become ever more tiresome, even grueling. We’ve been back in Brazil now for two months and the waves have been growing in intensity.

  • The Political Wave – Brazil has made international headlines with the widespread corruption scandal, protests in the streets, and moving forward with Presidential impeachment hearings. Some days the tension here is palpable. Prices are high, store shelves are not stocked with many options, and everyone talks about the uncertainty of the future.
  • The Emotional Wave – Due to economic instability in Brazil and other factors within our own mission sending agency, many of our beloved missionary colleagues and ex-pat friends have left Brazil and returned to the USA. While I have many, many dear Brazilian friends, there is something akin to feeling like you’ve become an “empty nester” all over again, when you realize that your “American family members” have left home. There is sense of loss over not having had the opportunity to even say “goodbye” to many dear friends. On top of that, there is the sadness of having said goodbyes to friends and family in the USA once again.
  • The Ministry Wave – Mark has had a very intense travel schedule since our return to Brazil, beginning not quite 48 hours after our arrival. He has logged thousands of air miles, both domestic and international. He has lots of exciting news of what is happening in Mexico, Central, and Latin America in Theological Education, but he will post about that when he gets home. (These are good waves, but they are one right after the other with little break between waves to catch one’s breath.)
  • The Spiritual Wave – Honestly, for me, it’s been a battle. I have been home alone for most of the past two months. While I admit, I do enjoy a bit of “me” time, this has been a stretch. After unpacking, scrubbing all the mold and mildew out the closets, washing every single thing that was left here and stored during our time in the USA, reorganizing and painting the bedrooms, planning out our ministry calendar for the year and doing all my “normal” daily ministry activities, I still had way too much time on my hands! I found myself falling into what I call the “blue funk fog”. Have you been there? It’s the place you just kind of slip into, without meaning to go there, and you just hang out. It’s not productive. You don’t make any real progress in the direction you need to be going. You don’t feel any joy—you just complete one task and move on to the next. You survive, but you don’t thrive. You begin to feel you are just being carried along to somewhere you don’t really want to go. This is a dangerous place for me. When I’m here I begin to feel fearful, sorry for myself, and begin to drift off course.

Lessons from the beach

I remember on a certain occasion going to the beach. Now, I am not a strong swimmer and I certainly am not coordinated enough to surf. But I do enjoy riding the waves on a boogie board. I knew the current was carrying me farther down the beach each time, but I stayed in the water anyway. I thought I could handle it. The water was only waist deep but some of the waves were nearly 5 feet tall. The waves were coming in hard and fast, one right after the other. Once the bigger waves settled down a bit I realized that I had drifting further down the beach, away from my family, and the undertow there was a lot stronger than I was. I found myself fighting against it to no avail. I had stayed in the water so long that by the time I realized I was in danger I couldn’t seem to make any headway trying to walk through the waist-deep water to get back to my family or back to the shore. The rest of the family couldn’t see me anymore and thought I had already gone in. No one knew I was in trouble. The only thing I knew I could do was sit on the board and let the current carry me over to the point that curved around at the other end of the beach. I knew it was unlikely I would drift out farther than that point. I knew the beach and knew the water was shallow over by the rocks at the point. So, I calmed down and settled myself on the board and allowed the current to carry me to the rocks at the other end of the beach. Once there I was able to climb off, hold onto the rocks and make my way to the shore and begin my long walk back.

 

That was an experience I don’t ever want to repeat! It would have been far better to make some adjustments sooner and not continue to stay in the water being battered by the waves. In fact, it would have been even better if I had noticed the red warning flag on that section of the beach advising of the strong currents! So, this past month, after wave after wave hit me and I began to feel myself growing tired and being pulled in the wrong direction I knew I needed to make some adjustments; and the sooner, the better! This time I saw the warning flag and I knew I had to get out of the water of self-pity and loneliness. The Lord used my time alone here in the past weeks to get my attention and speak to me.

Lessons from Loneliness

Much like the plan I made at the beach that day, I knew I needed a plan for dealing with those political, emotional, ministry and spiritual waves which were wearing me out, or the undertow would take me where I did not want to go. God has blessed me in so many ways. He has given us an important ministry here in Brazil and we feel 100% certain that this is where He would have us at this time. Still, some days are just plain hard. And, it’s in those hard moments that He teaches me more about himself.

Mark and I take lots of pictures. We take pictures of places we have lived and places we have visited; we take pictures of friends and pictures of family. We look at our pictures often—on our phones, on the screensavers of our computers, framed and hanging on the walls. Our pictures are reminders of special memories. Yet, if all I ever had of my grandchildren were their pictures, I would only know a small portion of who they are. A sweet picture can make me smile or even laugh, but it is still only a flat, static image that represents a memory of a time past, or perhaps a moment in the present that I am not a part of.

A video clip, on the other hand might make me feel more a part of action in the present. Even though it captures a moment in the past, I can almost envision myself there as I am virtually reliving the experience watching the video in the present. It’s not flat and static. The sound adds to the imagery and feeds my imagination. Still, the interaction is only one sided. Watching a video is bittersweet; in the end, it doesn’t necessarily help the relationship grow.

Conversation, on the other hand is participative. It is real time. It is present tense with forward momentum. It is going somewhere. While pictures and videos help stem the tide of loneliness, nothing takes the place of a good real-time (or FaceTime) conversation. I enjoy those unscheduled, unexpected quick phone calls just to say hello or pass on some piece of information, but even better are the long conversations where we just talk and enjoy one other’s company. Those are the kinds of moments that relationships need in order to grow.

I’m going somewhere with all this….just hang with me a little longer. 🙂

When Mark is traveling, I know he has arrived somewhere since I receive an automated text from the airline saying that flight 442 has arrived. But, I feel part of his story when Mark texts me saying he has landed and all is well. What’s the difference? I have a relationship with Mark, not with the airline’s automated system! I enjoy talking to my kids and grandkids because I have a relationship with them. The only way for the relationship to continue to grow while we are miles apart is to continue to communicate intentionally.

It seems the Lord wanted me to know this truth. He wanted me to experience this truth. Pictures and videos reminding me of precious memories can be compared to spiritual markers in my past. But in order to keep my relationship vibrant and growing with the Lord I needed to be communicating with him more and on a deeper level. I can’t just rely on my memories of past experiences. Could it be that the Lord viewed my quick prayers at mealtime and bedtime or my perfunctory morning quiet time as I view those quick purposeful calls? They are nice, but they leave me wanting more from the relationship. Could it be that through my loneliness the Lord wanted to remind me to invest more time communicating with Him on a deeper level? The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:18, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” I began to ponder that and resolved to work on the relationship with my Father, and the first step was improving communication—PRAYER.

Lessons from Lessons

One of the things on my to-do list upon our return was to prepare the rest of this year’s curriculum for the small group Bible studies we do in our home weekly. I had encouraged several of the participants to take over the teaching responsibilities in our absence, but they were ready for me to re-engage in the teaching and prepare to train the next generation of leaders. I had planned on tackling subjects such as prayer, pride, envy, anger, greed, just to name a few. I had done my initial readings and was ready to begin my teaching notes and prepare the students’ study guides. But, as I began preparing the lessons on prayer, this teacher became the learner. The Lord began to show me how going through the motions of prayer is not the same as having a real conversation in prayer. He began to show me how reading the Psalms could actually help me give voice to my prayers in an all-new way. He began to show me how the book of Psalms is perfectly suited for praying His Word back to Him even when I didn’t have the words to pray. The book of Psalms deals with every single emotion I was feeling. Through the words of the Psalmist I learned that instead of focusing on me and my problems and my desires, I could focus on praising and worshiping Him and praying for the needs of others. I could pray the divinely inspired words of the Psalms back to God when I didn’t have words to express myself.

Interestingly enough, when I did this, I no longer felt like I was being battered by those waves. I no longer felt the overwhelming despair of lonliness. I no longer felt like I was drifting to a place I didn’t really want to go, but rather, I felt that I had a purpose bigger than myself. I began to pray for others I knew who were going through difficult times. And I made a conscious effort to be encouraging to others—whether it meant meeting someone for lunch or coffee to really talk, or sending an encouraging email or text. I soon learned that in God’s perfect timing, each time I sent a message or had a conversation, it seemed it was just what that person needed at that time. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that I was just what they needed at that time. Rather, it was God’s Spirit in me ministering to them at that time, just the words they needed to hear. What if I had not had all that extra time on my hands? What if I had not spent that extra time in prayer? What if I had not read the Psalms and been motivated to pray for others? What if I had just prayed for them, but not followed up by sharing with the person that I had prayed for them? I think I would still be stuck in the “blue funk fog”, that’s what. And I think I would have missed out on the blessing of being used to show God’s love to someone else who was hurting.

Sometimes we have to be in the dark to appreciate the light. We have to go through the lonely times to appreciate a good conversation. If I close my eyes, I can almost hear the waves. The sound of the waves reminds me that God is in control. In fact, when Jesus spoke, the waves obeyed him!

I’m looking forward to our Saturday night Bible study time together to share what the Lord is teaching me. Thanks for your prayers! Don’t stop.

 

 

April Fool’s Day

On By 2tim2.1-3In Family, Missions, Uncategorized2 Comments

Twenty three years ago Mark and I took our two preschoolers and twelve pieces of luggage along with our brand new passports and one way tickets and boarded a plane for the great unknown—our answer to God’s call to transplant our lives in Brazil. It was no April Fools’ prank. It was the real deal. It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. We had no (as in ZERO) language skills, had no idea where we would be living and could not even correctly pronounce the name of the city of our first assignment.

We were appointed as Career Missionaries with Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now known as the International Mission Board, or IMB) in October of 1992. It took a couple of months for us to sort through, give away, sell, pack and crate our few worldly belongings, 8 weeks of orientation (as if anything could have prepared us for what we would actually face) and then several more months of waiting for visas before we actually arrived in country on April 2, 1993. And now here we are, twenty-three years later.

Much has changed, including our addresses (we are currently in our eighth place of residence), our official job descriptions,  missionary colleagues have come and gone, our national partners have changed, just to name a few.

Much remains the same, including our passion for evangelism and discipleship and our God given call to teach and equip workers for His harvest.

What have we learned so far?

  • God has made the world’s wisdom foolish. The Bible tells us this in the passage from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. Note verses 18 and 20b.
  • God chooses to use what is foolish (in the eyes of the world) to bring Him glory. Note verses 26-31

1 Corinthians 1:18-31Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.20 Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. 22 For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, 25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Boasting Only in the Lord

26 Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective,[not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one can boast in His presence. 30 But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

As we celebrate our “anniversary” of our leaving one home to make our home in another place, we remember these words from scripture. Maybe April Fool’s Day will be a reminder to you, as it is to us, that God is about something greater than we can imagine or envision.

 

Goodbyes and Great Commission Faithfulness

On By 2tim2.1-3In Family, Missions, UncategorizedLeave a comment

In English we say a picture is worth a thousand words. In the Portuguese language, there is a word worth a thousand pictures. “SAUDADES.”

sau·da·de [souˈdädə] (noun) a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament.

SAUDADE

A word in Portuguese and Galician (from which it entered Spanish) that claims no direct translation in English. It describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never return. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade

We are in the final countdown month of preparations for our return to missionary service in Brazil. Many of you have asked how you can pray for us. Mark and Caron will both be sharing some thoughts on this poignant subject of leaving the land and people we love to return to the land and people we love. Here is the first of a two part series. Caron shared  s her reflections in Part 1 last week; Now, Mark shares his thoughts in Part 2.

Part 2 — Mark’s Thoughts

Hudson Taylor, at the end of a life full of suffering and trial, said, “I never made a sacrifice.”[1] In once sense, these words seem to be blatantly contradicted by the plain facts of Christian experience in general, and all forms of Christian missions service in particular. Hardships are endured on the part of God’s people when they are obedient to God’s mission, whether in sending or in going.

God’s mission has always gone forward on the “sacrifice” of God’s people. Minimally, that sacrifice consists of giving and sending. All Christians are called sacrificially to give of their financial resources for the advance of the Gospel. Some Christians individually will be called to give of their lives by actually deploying to other places and cultures in order to spread the Gospel.

However, at the same time, Christian missions is motivated by a deep sense of gratitude, gratitude for what God has done for humanity’s salvation in Christ Jesus. “Sacrifices” made in God’s mission pale in comparison to that which He has done on our behalf in order to procure for us salvation. Temporal “sacrifices” made in God’s mission pale in comparison to the eternal benefits that wait for us in God’s certain, coming Kingdom. His servants believe these truths, live for these truths, and willingly undergo personal hardships for the sake of these truths.

Is Christian missions a “sacrifice”?

In one sense, Hudson Taylor is right; deploying for the Great Commission is not a sacrifice. It is a privilege. No hardship experienced on our part equals the magnitude of the grace of God lavished upon us in Christ Jesus.

Yet, in another sense, the pain felt in Christian service is very real. The nature of missionary service is such that common human pain is often times amplified beyond normal experience by the additional challenges and stresses of trans-cultural living and cross-communication. As a result, the normal hardships of life, including the Christian life, are magnified in the rigors of transcultural living, ministry, and survival.

Missionaries deeply feel the pain of separation from kin and country that deploying for the Great Commission demands. This pain is real, and it can be very intense. This pain has been a constant companion in my missionary pilgrimage. For twenty-three years, I have lived with this reality of Great Commission obedience in my life, the pain of good-byes. Indeed, nothing has been more painful than the good-byes.

My first years of leaving family and friends to go to the mission field were accompanied by a deep sense of pain and loneliness.  Initially, leaving family and friends, I would cry like a baby. Sometime ago, I quit crying. Not because the pain of separation grew less, but not even tears could bring healing to the heart. For some sorts of pain, the hurt runs too deep to be casually cured.

  • Medicine can mask the pain.
  • Counsel can ease the pain.
  • Diversion helps to momentarily forget the pain.

However, as an American, I always felt the deeply held cultural assumption that I had to get through pain, get over pain, and/or move on from pain in order to be whole. After all, “the pursuit of happiness” is a part of the political and cultural legacy of what it means to be American. It was at that point that Christian missions itself taught me how to deal with, live with, and ultimately embrace that which I felt most deeply in my heart. Allow me to share another story from the life of Hudson Taylor that illustrates this important life lesson. The following passage is from The Growth of a Soul, vol 1. Written by Howard and Geraldine Taylor, son and daughter-in-law of Hudson Taylor.

My beloved, now sainted mother had come over … to see me off. Never shall I forget that day, nor how she went with me into the cabin that was to be my home for nearly six long months. With a mother’s loving hand she smoothed the little bed. She sat by my side and joined in the last hymn we should sing together before parting, we knelt down and she prayed – the last mother’s prayer I was to hear before leaving for China. Then notice was given that we must separate, and we had to say good-bye, never expecting to meet on earth again.

For my sake she restrained her feelings as much as possible. We parted, and she went ashore giving me her blessing, I stood alone on deck, and she followed the ship as we moved toward the dock-gates, As we passed through the gates and the separation really commenced, never shall I forget the cry of anguish wrung from that mother’s heart. It went through me like a knife, I never knew so fully, until then, what ‘God so loved the world’ meant. And I am quite sure my precious mother learned more of the love of God for the perishing in that one hour than in all her life before.

 Oh how it must grieve the heart of God when He sees His children indifferent to the needs of that wide world for which His beloved, His only Son suffered and died. 

Hudson said: “I never knew so fully, until then, what ‘God so loved the world’ meant.” These key words from have helped me walk through the pain of separation from family and loved ones.

Simple though it may be, it came as a revelation to my spirit that it was “Ok” to be deeply grieved with saying good-bye.

How could it be anything else but terribly painful to leave those that we love? It was “Ok” to be saddened to leave behind aging parents for whom I longed to care, precious family for whom I longed to be near, and long-time friends with whom I desired to share life. It was not necessary for me to “get over and move beyond” anything that I felt, because the pain I felt was real.

Painful, sacrificial love is the essence of the very faith that God’s people have been sent to proclaim to the nations.

The pain of separation was part and parcel of Christ’s incarnation and ultimately His atoning work on our behalf.

  • Salvation cost the Father loss of fellowship with His Son as He became a propitiation, a sin offering on our behalf.
  • Salvation cost the Son communion with His Father, which He had enjoyed for all eternity, when He took unto Himself the wrath for which humanity’s sin deserved.
  • His cry of dereliction, abandonment, and separation was the price paid for sinner’s salvation.

It comes as no surprise that those who follow in the footsteps of the Savior must be willing as well to walk in the same way of suffering and separation as He walked. As we go to the nations, we go as messengers of a costly sacrificial love. It is no small wonder that we too must bear the marks in our spirits, and at times our bodies, of this same sacrificial love for others that is necessary to make Christ known among All Peoples in All Places.

Caron and I have known the pain of leaving fathers who have now gone on to be with Jesus, mothers who are now aging, precious family members whose relationships are treasured, and now two grandsons. All of these have been painful. Particularly, it is now leaving the two grandsons that brings with it a type of pain heretofore not experienced in my life. I deeply grieve leaving them, because I so deeply want to invest in them, to love them, to see them become the men God would have them to be.

Only one love motivates me to continue in what is indeed a painful mission, God’s eternal love for the lost.

He has lost sheep in All Places among All Peoples whom He desires to call to Himself. These come from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Embracing God’s love for lost souls and His costly mission to redeem them, I can embrace the pain of leaving and separation. I can embrace the pain of good-byes.

When the pain of the mission is embraced, the feeling left in the human heart is “saudades,” the genuine heart-longings that one feels for the people and places we most treasure. I can live with this pain because it is an integral part of a mission bigger than the pain that I feel. For the day will come when these words of Christ words will become true: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3 NASB).

What will we feel when this Day finally comes to pass? In this life, we embrace the pain of Great Commission faithfulness and live with the sweet “saudades” that God’s Spirit leaves in the heart. The Day is coming when all hearts in Christ will find the eternal joy for which their hearts long. Words from J. R. R. Tolkien express the future for which all God’s saints yearn:

“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?”

“A great Shadow has departed,” said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count.

For now, we embrace pain in God’s mission to the nations, but the day is coming when everything sad is going to come untrue.

It is for this we labor. It is for this we long. It is for this we eagerly await. What does it mean to have “saudades?” For me, it means making peace with my pain for sake of the Prince of Peace.

[1] Piper, J. (2002). Brothers, we are not professionals: a plea to pastors for radical ministry (p. 52). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Saudades

On By 2tim2.1-3In Family, Missions, UncategorizedLeave a comment

In English we say a picture is worth a thousand words. In the Portuguese language, there is a word worth a thousand pictures. “SAUDADES.”

sau·da·de [souˈdädə] (noun) a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament.

SAUDADE

A word in Portuguese and Galician (from which it entered Spanish) that claims no direct translation in English. It describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never return. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade

We are in the final countdown month of preparations for our return to missionary service in Brazil. Many of you have asked how you can pray for us. Mark and Caron will both be sharing some thoughts on this poignant subject of leaving the land and people we love to return to the land and people we love. Here is the first of a two part series. Caron will share her reflections in Part 1; Mark will share his thoughts in Part 2.

Part 1 — Caron’s Reflections

As a mother, I well remember awaiting the birth of our second child and wondering how I could ever love another with the same kind of love I held for our firstborn. It took about .025 seconds for me to resolve that after his birth! I was amazed that my heart could make room for another to occupy the same level of intense love. Yet, that is exactly how I describe the situation I now find myself in.

I am a person who loves, feels at home at, and deeply misses when not present, two distinct countries, two different peoples, two different cultures. As we prepare to return to Brazil, people ask me, “Where do you consider home now?” My response: Both. And neither.

Allow me to explain:                                                                                                        Neither, because I will always be an “outsider”.

  • In Brazil, I speak Portuguese, have Brazilian friends, observe Brazilian customs and holidays, but I am still American. I enjoy celebrating American holidays, making American recipes (especially desserts!) and my Portuguese has a distinct American accent, no matter how hard I try. I am an “accepted outsider”, but an outsider, nonetheless. I belong, but I am different.
  • In the USA I find that here too, I am a bit of an outsider. It is the land of my birth, the home of my ancestors for several generations now. Yet, I find that after living abroad for 23 years, I am a foreigner to many of the customs, slang expressions, jokes, references to TV shows, understanding certain processes (pumping gas, automated Rx refills, to name a few). I crave different foods. I enjoy hanging out with internationals. I speak English without a foreign accent, but it doesn’t take long for folks to realize that I’m just a bit different. Thankfully, here too family and friends receive me as an “accepted outsider”.   I belong, but I am different.

Both, because I am “at home” both in Brazil and in the USA.

  • When in the USA, I embrace whole-heartedly the culture, the people, the seemingly unlimited variety of options of everything to purchase for a reasonable price. I spend every possible moment out in the backyard: gardening, grilling out, and sitting around the fire pit. I enjoy watching the squirrels play and the hearing the birds sing (things I don’t get to do from my 10th story apartment in Brazil.) Most of all I enjoy spending time with friends and family. I enjoy meeting friends for lunch or coffee. I enjoy Wednesday night suppers at church. I enjoy singing in the Christmas Cantata. I enjoy every moment I spend with my precious family. I cherish every diaper I changed, every bath given, every story read to my two grandsons and I cherish the special moments I have spent with their parents (our daughter and son-in-law). I cherish every road trip taken with our son, every song sung together and Trivial Pursuit game played (even though I never win). I value every hour spent in the waiting room of a doctors office with my mom, or trip to the grocery together; every visit with my mother-in-law around the dinner table at the assisted living residence. I find myself purposefully, intentionally, recording these memories (sights, sounds, smells, etc.) on the hard-drive of my brain so I can recall them at a later date and relive them. Yes, I’ll confess here, that is why I take so many pictures and post them at random times. I am reliving those special moments because I know that those moments will never return. Now, I am not saying that the same is not true for you, dear reader. But might I suggest that unless you think about the fact that you won’t have that opportunity again for a very long time (possibly never), you many not fully appreciate how precious it is to experience it now.

Saudade was once described as “the love that remains” after someone is gone. Saudade is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well-being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live again. It can be described as an emptiness, like someone (e.g., one’s children, parents, sibling, grandparents, friends, pets) or something (e.g., places, things one used to do in childhood, or other activities performed in the past) that should be there in a particular moment is missing, and the individual feels this absence. It brings sad and happy feelings all together, sadness for missing and happiness for having experienced the feeling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade

Yes, the USA is my home. I love it here. I don’t want to leave. (There, I said it.)

  • Yet, I am ready to go “home” to Brazil. I miss my bed. I miss my kitchen. I miss my pictures. I miss my orchids. I miss my “stuff”. I miss my friends, bike rides, walks along the beaches, and churrascos (Brazilian cook outs). I don’t miss the urban traffic, but I do miss certain aspects of the city. Most of all, I miss what I do there.

I’m a teacher by trade. I have taught every age and every grade from preschool – high school at some point. I have taught English as a Second Language (ESL). I have taught cooking and sewing and needlework classes. I have taught in churches and in seminaries. God has used my abilities to teach to create within me a passion for discipleship. I love teaching new believers how to take their first steps in following Christ. I love helping folks understand the glorious mysteries of the Gospel. I get excited about explaining how the Bible is relevant to all of life to those friends who are “not-yet” believers. I am honored to have the privilege of teaching young couples what it is to have a marriage centered on Christ and to teach principles of godly parenting to first generation Christians. I am blessed beyond measure to practice hospitality and open our home for Bible studies and times of sweet fellowship. (Even when sometimes it feels like we are running a Bed and Breakfast!) I still teach, but at a much different level now. God has uniquely made me who I am (with my interests, talents and abilities) so that I can become who He wants me to be. I’m not saying that can only happen in Brazil.  But I am saying that is where God has placed me.

In a word, it is the “call” of God that empowers me to say goodbye to the life I love here in the USA and go embrace the life He has enabled me to love in Brazil. Many of you know we were offered the opportunity to for an early retirement package from our mission sending agency (IMB). After much prayer and soul searching, we decided not to accept it. Many of our dear friends and missionary colleagues chose to accept it. They too did so after much soul searching and prayer. It is not an easy decision to stay on the field or to return to the USA. Those of you involved in ministry know that decisions of this nature are not defined by financial loss or gain, but rather the sense of “call” on one’s life at that particular moment. I grieve for the loss of dear missionary friends and colleagues. I will miss them. I will add them to the list of my “saudades”. I can say with confidence though, that at this point in time, our call to “go and make disciples” is still what it was 23 years ago. The Lord has not yet released us from that call in Brazil.

Will you pray for us as we leave home to go home?

Saudades!                                                                                                                                  Caron

God’s Providence and Your Mission, Part 2

On By 2tim2.1-3In Family, Missions, New Years, UncategorizedLeave a comment

My story is unique, as is your story. It is a story that has unfolded under the providential care of the Heavenly Father. I came to faith in Christ as an 8-year-old growing up in a Southern Illinois coal town. I was baptized by immersion soon after and became a member of a local church. The next year, something happened that shaped and set the course for the rest of my life. I went to a mission camp. There I sat under the spell-binding teaching of Southern Baptist missionary legend, Dr. John Abernathy.

Dr. Abernathy was then on his final furlough before retiring to Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was a missionary is his sixties. I was a boy barely nine years of age. Dr. Abernathy served the later years of his missionary career in Korea, but his legacy was established during his time of service in China before the communist takeover. That week at missions camp, he told me stories of his life among the Chinese, his being shot by Japanese soldiers and being saved by Chinese Nationalist soldiers, and, most importantly, of his involvement in one of the great revivals of the 20th century, the Shantung Revival. As a child, I spent that week with him in rapt attention asking him questions and listening to his stories. He placed in my young heart a passion for the Great Commission. When my mother came to pick me up from the camp, he walked with me to the car, placed his hand on my head and said to her, “Mrs. Johnson, I believe this young boy might be called to Christian missions.” From that time forward, I never had any question about it. I was made by God to be involved in His mission to the nations. It was then I knew that I had a call from God.

Providentially, life went on. I entered the ministry, was married, and started a family. However, the call to missions was there, lying dormant below the surface of my life waiting for the chance to bloom and grow. That reaffirmation of my call came at 27 years of age, at about the time of the birth of my son. Stephen was born with some health challenges. Caron and I did all that we could to care for him and nurture him with our limited resources. However, to my disappointment, I was told by our denominational sending agency that we could not be appointed due to his health condition and our indebtedness paying his medical bills. I had given up all hope of serving in international missions. It seemed that the door had been irreversibly closed. Then, God in His gracious providence renewed my call and acted by His power. Two things happened in a short period of time: God said to go to the nations and my son’s health was restored.

One evening, Caron and I were visiting with Steve and Deanne in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  (Be sure to go back and read Part 1 of this Blog post, if you missed it last week.) As we were about to leave, Steve, knowing my love for reading, said: “Hey, I have a book, that I would like for you to read. It is about one of your Southern Baptist missionaries who served in China.” I thanked him for the book, took it home and began reading it. The book was titled, The Shantung Revival. To my surprise, on the inside cover was the handwriting Dr. John Abernathy. He wrote a personal note to the recipient of the book.  (Who that original recipient was, and how it got from that person to my friend Steve, I will never know.) Not only that, but as I turned the pages, Dr. Abernathy’s notes were in the margins of the text. Literally, on every page, it was as if I were hearing his voice from my childhood speaking to me again. At the same time, I heard God speaking to me, telling me that His call had not changed. That book came to me at the time of my deepest despair by the hands of a friend. Why at that time? I have only one answer, God willed it. I told Caron that I did not know how, but I knew that God wanted us to be missionaries. To do that, she reminded me, we would need a miracle to heal our son, which is, in my opinion, precisely what happened next.

Our son, whose emergency C-section brought him into the world a couple weeks ahead of schedule, had been subject to allergies and lung infections from birth. He was subjected to a battery of tests and found to be allergic to host of things. Allergy therapy followed, but he was always dogged by the specter of pneumonia, of which he had recurring bouts. Slowly, we noticed improvements and two and half years later we decided to reestablish contact with our denominational mission agency. The doctor there remembered our case and requested an update on our son’s present health status. To my amazement, the doctor called us into his office and shared with us: “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, your son seems to have marvelously recovered. It appears that he will no longer need on-going allergy therapy.” Believing all things are under God’s control, I have no doubt that my son’s treatment and healing was superintended by the gracious providence of God Almighty.

God has taught me the following lessons from my experience, and I would suggest that they are applicable to your life as well:

  • God has a plan for your life. He really does. You are not here on accident. That plan might or might not involve you moving to another country. However, it will involve your glorifying God wherever you are in whatever circumstances you are. For now, you are where you need to be. Learn the lessons that He has for you where you are. “Don’t get discouraged if the task or ‘call’ does not come immediately. Remain faithful in what He has told you to do, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it may appear.[1]”
  • Put yourself in places where can God can speak to you. For me, it was at a missions camp. For you, it might be at a local church, a special conference, etc. However, don’t think it is only a special few that have providential encounters with God Almighty. God speaks to us all. It is incumbent upon us to learn to clearly hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. Be involved in missions though your local church. God speaks most clearly when we are engaged in His work.
  • You have not been abandoned; you are not an orphan. No one has helped me more in this area than Jack Miller. Miller uses the helpful check list in order to help to assess our hearts:

orphan son checklist

“If you’re a Christian, you’ve been adopted. God is your Father. You have all the benefits of sonship. You are now a son or daughter of God” http://www.justinbuzzard.net/2009/12/21/orphans-vs-children-checklis/. If this is the case, and it is if I am a Christian, I can never give into despair. I am not an orphan alone in this vast Universe. I am an adopted child of the Great King of the Universe and He will accomplish His purposes in my life.

God has a purpose for your life and He is working to accomplish it. If the Father has spoken to you in the past and you are still waiting for Him to fulfill His Word in the present, do not lose heart. The purposes of the Lord will stand. His providential purposes are sure and He is always right on time, His time. Dr. Henry Blackaby in his book, Experiencing God, quotes  Charles Spurgeon: “When we cannot trace God’s hand, we must simply trust His heart.”

A happy and blessed New Year to all!

Mark & Caron

[1] Duke, R. D. (2010). God’s Enabling Grace in the Path of Suffering. The Founders Journal: Suffering and Glory, Spring, (80), 25.

 

God’s Providence and Your Mission, Part 1

On By 2tim2.1-3In Family, Missions, New Years, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The year 2015 ended with the special pleasure of having a visit in our home with long-time friends, Steve and Deanne Turley. Steve and Deanne are veteran Assemblies of God missionaries who have served in Belgium for many years. The time together with them reminded me of everything special about Christian friendships that the years cannot dim: free-flowing conversations that are serious and substantive. Conversations that are honest, yet full of confidence in God’s providential mercies. These providential mercies have been made evident in years past and will certainly continue to be made evident in the upcoming years, including the year of 2016. Time with Steve and Deanne reminded me of the special place this couple has had in our lives and how God providentially used them to send us to Brazil 23 years ago. The same providence that has been at work in my life is at work in your life as well. Each of have a mission to accomplish. This post is my attempt to assure you that, “He who began a good work in you will complete it.” How? I cannot say. Will He? Of this, I am certain. My own story is a testimony to His faithfulness. Before telling my story, let me define briefly two important concepts, mission and providence.

Providence. God’s providence is defined by the Westminster Divines in the following way: “God’s works of providence are, his most holy, (Ps. 145:17) wise, (Ps. 104:24, Isa. 28:29) and powerful preserving, (Heb. 1:3) and governing all his creatures, and all their actions. (Ps. 103:19, Matt. 10:29–31)[1]” Simply stated, providence is the teaching that God has all things under His control, including the details of my life, for good and for ill. Because it is God who is control, I can be sure of three things:

  • I can trust God’s providence because He is all powerful. The God who made the vastness of the universe can and does control the sometimes seemingly chaotic details of my life and your life.
  • I can trust God’s providence because He is all wise. I think that I have an idea as to how the universe should be best governed, but the fact is that I am woefully limited by my finite sinfulness. God knows no such limits. He really does know what is best for me and this vast universe that He created.
  • I can trust God’s providence because He loves me. Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans. We are His and He is ours. In all things, we have the confidence that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Mission. What is mission? There are a host of understandings of what this simple word means. Those understandings range from the simple idea of being sent to do a task to the possible actions and activities that might characterize and compose that task. However, for the purpose of this blog post, I am using a simpler understanding of the term, a definition of that comes from the world of leadership training. Your mission is what you should be doing, what you should be doing in every area of your life.

The word mission is derived from the Latin word, “missio” to be sent. This in turn begs the question: Sent to do what? What should I be doing? Answer that question and you know the mission for your life in every area of your life. Speaking from the perspective of Christian ministry, Aubrey Malphurs gives this helpful definition: “A mission is a broad, brief biblical statement of what the ministry is supposed to be doing.”[2]

Substitute the words family, person, company, organization, etc. for the word ministry, and it will make no difference. The operative word is “should.” Your mission, before God, is what you should be doing in your life and with your life.

This inevitably leads to a couple of basic questions:                                        “How I can know what is my mission?”                                                                       “How can I remain faithful to that mission once that I know it?”

I will address the question of how you can know your mission in a separate post. But for now, I assume that you already know what your life mission is but you are facing barriers that seem insurmountable in seeing that mission accomplished and become a reality. This was the case in my life when God used Steve and Deanne to rekindle my call to missions. I will share more about that chapter in our pilgrimage to missions in the next blog post. Be sure to check back next week for Part 2 of God’s Providence and Your Mission

[1] The Westminster shorter catechism: with Scripture proofs. (1996). (3rd edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Malphurs, A. (1998). Developing a dynamic mission for your ministry (p. 33). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Christmas and the Mission of God, Part 2

On By 2tim2.1-3In Christmas, Evangelism and Serving others, Family, Missions, UncategorizedLeave a comment

In part one of this article we looked at three points of concern about the celebration of Christmas, the conclusion many leading Anglo-Saxon Protestants reached about Christmas observance, and some application questions based on those well justified concerns. Now let take it a step further.

If the concerns about Christmas are as grave as those mentioned, why should it continue to be practiced by convictional evangelicals today?

I believe the answer is a question of Great Commission concern. Christmas is an example of missiological concern and historical contextualization. First, let’s briefly define contextualization.

Contextualization is defined by Dr. M. David Sills as:

…the process of proclaiming the gospel and living as the church in a modern cultural context.[1] … No one today lives in a first-century Palestinian cultural context, so every modern Christian contextualizes the gospel and the church in a cultural setting fundamentally different from the world of the Bible. However, most people don’t realize they are doing it.[2]

Contextualization is the process by which the Gospel is proclaimed and assimilated in cultures different from the biblical culture, and often times vastly different from the culture of the one sharing the Gospel message. This happens with greater frequency than is often recognized.

Musical preferences are usually the easiest way to see contextualization at work in most ministry settings. For example, some would argue that within their cultural reality, Southern Gospel is the best way to musically express Gospel truths. Others put forward the case that within their context, Contemporary Christian forms of music are better. Which musical option is correct, Southern Gospel or Contemporary Christian? If fact, both of these may be right and/or both be wrong. At this point, the cultural context determines what is the best strategic approach to be used. Some ministry contexts may favor large scale Christmas cantatas during the Christmas season. Other contexts may not favor Christmas cantatas at all, but rather multiple Christmas Eve services using classical music in order to reach their communities. In each case, musical style is a servant to the greater cause of relevant, comprehensible Gospel communication. The point to remember is that contextualization is always happening, whether we realize it or not. As it is always happening, it can be said that it has always been happening, which helps us better to understand the missiological origins of Christmas.

Before the conversion of the Angels and Saxons in what is now modern England, there was some religious observation of the birth of Christ in the Roman world. However, it was not tremendously emphasized in the ancient Church. Clearly, the focus was on Resurrection Sunday, which is now called Easter. Dan Groves gives this helpful summary:

Dionysus Exiguus, a sixth century monk, who was the first to date all of history from December 25th, the year of our Lord 1. Other traditions gave dates as early as mid-November or as late as March. How did Christmas come to be celebrated on December 25th? Cultures around the Mediterranean and across Europe observed feasts on or around December 25th, marking the winter solstice. The Jews had a festival of lights. Germans had a yule festival. Celtic legends connected the solstice with Balder, the Scandinavian sun god who was struck down by a mistletoe arrow. At the pagan festival of Saturnalia, Romans feasted and gave gifts to the poor. Drinking was closely connected with these pagan feasts. At some point, a Christian bishop may have adopted the day to keep his people from indulging in the old pagan festival, http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/the-1st-recorded-celebration-of-christmas-11629658.html?fb_action_ids=10153099175722364&fb_action_types=og.likes

It needs to be remembered that these first historical observances of Christmas were within the bounds of the Roman Empire among Latin speakers disposed to accept the Roman worldview. What about those from beyond the pale of the Roman empire? What about the Barbarians?

The first major group of Barbarians to convert to the Christian faith were the Angels and Saxons, the Anglo-Saxons. Their conversion occurred roughly around A.D. 596, or about 10 to 15 years prior to the founding of Islam in 610. Upon their conversion, the missionary to the Angels and Saxons, Augustine of Canterbury, was faced with a simple, but profound question: Now, what? This people had converted, but had no previous background or exposure to the Christian worldview or to the Christian faith. Augustine of Canterbury wrote to Pope Gregory seeking orientation. Gregory’s advice explains why and how Christmas, and other aspects of Christian tradition, developed among these newly converted non-Latin/non-Roman peoples. Gregory responded to Augustine with these words:

The heathen temples of these people need not be destroyed, only the idols which are to be found in them.… If the temples are well built, it is a good idea to detach them for the worship of the true God.… And since the people are accustomed, when they assemble for sacrifice, to kill many oxen in sacrifice to the devils, it seems reasonable to appoint a festival for the people by way of exchange.[3]

Missiologists, like Johan Bavinck, describe this attempt to connect deeply with a given culture with no previous association to the Biblical message as possessio, literally “take possession of”. Gregory oriented Augustine to use and preserve pagan festivals and places already familiar to the Angels and Saxons and re-invest them with Christian meaning in order that the Gospel message might naturally take root in a culture that had no previous biblical tradition or awareness. For this reason, a previous pagan holiday, December 25th, became servant to a greater Master, the Gospel of Jesus. In this way, newly converted persons could understand the Gospel within their own cultural context. Christmas was established as a holiday to teach people within their cultural reality the most profound of truths: Christ’s incarnation and the importance of it.

That leads us to the next question:

Can a Christian partake in Christmas with a clear conscience?

I believe they can with this caveat: they must be keenly aware of who is converting whom.

Christmas exists for Christians to teach others, including their families, the importance of the incarnation and its implications for each person. If this occurs, Christmas fulfills its original missionary purpose. Christmas is well kept. If it does not occur and Christians find themselves drifting slowly in the direction of banal, secular consumerism, there is good reason to question if the holiday is fulfilling its original intended purpose, “to detach them for the purpose of the true God”. If a Christians finds their observance of Christmas taking them further from Christ and the Gospel (not closer), they should consider the need to re-calibrate their spiritual lives.

How can one best celebrate the Christmas season?

Here are our suggestions:

  • Remember what Christmas is about. It is not primarily about children, family, or the exchanging of gifts with those we love. These things are not bad; however, that’s not what Christmas is really all about. Christmas is about the celebration of the Incarnation. Anything that detracts from that is a distraction, not a helpful addition.
  • Can Christians cultivate the imaginary aspects of Christmas without deeply compromising the actual intent of the Christian holiday? Certainly, the Dutch Christian experience of Sinter Klaas shows that it can be done. The playful, whimsical element of Christmas need not be denied, and can be enjoyed by all, but should be held in reasonable check. When Santa looms large and the incarnation looms small, you already know the Christmas celebration has become unbalanced.
  • Maintain the giving of gifts within the limits of good Christian stewardship. Simply stated, incurring indebtedness purchasing Christmas gifts is always a bad idea. Set a budget and stay within it. You might enjoy focusing more on giving gifts that are simple, but reflect creativity and genuine artistry: sewing, baking, wordworking, painting, etc. Perhaps, some might want to give the gift of time and labor in helping with special projects. There are some gifts that money can’t buy. Never forget the gift of a good song after a special Christmas meal.
  • Invest in the life of your local church during the Christmas season. Make sure your local church gets time, effort, and energy that is needed during this busy time of year. Few things are more tragic than Christians so busy with secular Christmas activities they neglect supporting the celebration of Christmas in their local church. Rather than being a part of the on-going cultural discussion about the War on Christmas, exercise your First Amendment right and celebrate Christmas heartily and fully where you can do it with the full blessing of God and man, in your local church. Local churches, no matter how they choose to celebrate Christmas, need the presence, participation, and support of God’s people.
  • Remember the lost at home and abroad during the Christmas season. Hymn writer Keith Getty recently said as the culture becomes more secular the importance of Christmas as an outreach event in the local church becomes incrementally more important. He is right. Invite your lost friends to participate in the Christmas celebrations in your church.
  • Finally, as you give and exchange gifts, never forget the greatest gift was the gift of God’s Son. As you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, your gift helps others in different cultures to come to know the grace and hope that only exists in Christ’s Gospel. The work of Christian missions is tasked with sharing the Christmas message among all peoples: Roughly paraphrasing John Calvin, “The Son of God became the Son of Man in order that the sinful Sons of Men might become the glorious redeemed Sons of God.”

Is it really too hard to observe Christmas in this day with the same simplicity Christians have done in centuries past?

No, I don’t believe that is the case. Ask a good question and give a good answer, and the true meaning of Christmas can be kept in its rightful place. I conclude with lines from two of the greatest Christian philosophers, Charlie Brown and Linus:

Charlie Brown: I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn’t have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is all about.

[shouting in desperation]

Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?

Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.

[moves toward the center of the stage]

Linus Van Pelt: Lights, please.

[a spotlight shines on Linus]

Linus Van Pelt: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not:”

[Linus drops his security blanket on purpose]

Linus Van Pelt: “for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'”

[Luke 2:8-14 KJV]

Linus Van Pelt: [Linus picks up his blanket and walks back towards Charlie Brown] That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

 

A very Merry Christmas to all from the Johnsons.

[1] Pratt, Z., Walters, J., & Sills, M. D. (2014). Introduction to global missions. Nashville: B&H. [2] Pratt, Z., Walters, J., & Sills, M. D. (2014). Introduction to global missions. Nashville: B&H.[3] Terry, J. M. (1994). Evangelism: a concise history (p. 49). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman.

Christmas and the Mission of God, Part 1

On By 2tim2.1-3In Christmas, Family, Missions, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Reasons to Keep Celebrating Christmas

It is said that confession is good for the soul, so here it goes: I am a part of that evangelical generation that actually questioned some time ago, and to an extent still in a healthy way, the wisest and best way to celebrate Christmas. You might be among those who find it hard to imagine in the present cultural moment that there are those of us who have, and still do, question the rightness (yes, even the necessity), of celebrating Christmas.

It is obvious that the Christmas juggernaut continues to roll unabated and gathering ever greater mass and velocity in a rapidly secularizing American culture. “American Christmas” continues to win converts in all parts of the world to a secular, sentimentalist vision of good will and joy to all men via consumerist spending. Christmas is now celebrated in places you would least expect it. It is celebrated in secular, Buddhist Japan and in Islamic Turkey. In these places, and many more, it is seen as a harmless, definitely non-religious, moment for good-hearted family fun. It is this very point that concerned many evangelicals in the past and should still concern evangelicals today.

In light of the rampant secularization of Christmas today, should Christmas still be celebrated by sincere evangelicals?

In all honesty, Christmas’ origins bring with it a wooly and unsavory past. For example, most Bible scholars do not believe that Jesus was born on December 25. Much has been written on this subject. The best article of which I am aware is Colin Humphrey’s “The Star of Bethlehem, A Comet in 5 BC and The Date of Christ’s Birth[1]” Professor Humphrey’s concludes:

The birth of Christ was in the Spring, in the period 9 March–4 May 5 BC. Tentatively the period around Passover time is suggested (13–27 April 5 BC). This date is consistent with the available evidence including a reference in Luke to there being shepherds out in the fields at night. Although today Christmas is celebrated on 25 December in the west and on 8 January in the east, we suggest that the evidence of astronomy, the bible and other ancient literature points to the Spring of 5 BC as being the time of the first Christmas.[2]

December 25 is most likely not the correct historical date for the actual birth of Christ. This leads to some logical questions then:

  • What is so special about December 25?
  • Why is it celebrated as a special date?

December 25 is normally associated with the ancient Feast of Saturnalia. George Fisher wrote in the Princeton Review last century:

In connection with the close of the year there had existed a series of heathen festivals into which the Romans entered with extreme delight. First were the Saturnalia, the jubilee of Saturn or Kronos, which marked the close of farm-work for the year, when the reins were given to merriment, when slaves could put on the clothes of gentlemen, and wear the badge of freemen, and sit at a banquet, being waited on by their masters.[3]

It is a fact that December 25 as a festival date has deep roots in a pagan and sensual past. An evangelical Christian is not to be faulted if they find themselves uncomfortable with December 25 as the preferred date for celebrating Jesus’ birthday.

What is to be made of this Christmas conundrum?

It is not historical; it has become a tool for promoting secularism; it has profoundly questionable origins in a dark pagan past. For centuries Anglo-Saxon/Celtic protestants knew exactly what to make of it: avoid it. Christmas was illegal in Massachusetts until the 19th century. There is little indication that this prohibition provoked an offended outcry on the part of the general American populous. All indications seem to point to the Dutch as being the first to introduce Christmas to the United States in the 17th via the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas. (If interested in a book for your children and grandchildren, I could not recommend a finer text than Pieter Spier’s “The Legend of New Amsterdam”, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NI2CR5S/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1.) B. B. Warfield, one of Americas greatest Protestant theologians, speaks for many centuries of Protestant thought when he wrote just last century:

There is a certain passionate intensity in the way in which Christmas is now celebrated among us. But after all, what can be said for the customs to which we have committed ourselves? There is no reason to believe that our Lord wished His birthday to be celebrated by His followers. There is no reason to believe that the day on which we are celebrating it is His birthday. There is no reason to believe that the way in which we currently celebrate it would meet His approval. Are we not in some danger of making of what we fondly tell ourselves is a celebration of the Advent of our Lord, on the one side something much more like the Saturnalia of old Rome than is becoming in a sober Christian life; and, on the other something much more like a shopkeeper’s carnival than can comport with the dignity of even a sober secular life?[4]

Rather, than cavalierly dismissing Warfield concerns as the theological spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge, we would do well to consider his probing question:  Is the experience of Christmas for many not more akin to a pagan celebration of old than to the values reflective of a sober Christian life?

I offer you some questions for your reflection:

  • Does my conduct during Christmas reflect my Christian confession? The fact is that Christmas is often the occasion for some notoriously bad behavior.
  • Do my fiscal expenditures reflect my Christian commitments? For some, Christmas is a time in which families enter further and further into consumer debt. At times, actual purchases of some products (often media related) actually undermine the very beliefs and values reflected in the Cristian understanding of Christmas.
  • Do my time commitments during Christmas reflect my Christian commitments? Yes, Christmas is a wonderful time for families to be together. Yes, it is a special time for children. But, neither family nor children is to be the primary focus of Christmas. It is the worship of and the reflection upon the Incarnate Lord that should be the primary focus of the Christmas season. Make sure that you give time to your local church to be fully involved in its life during this Christmas Season.
  • Finally, does my experience cause me to treasure Christ more or to treasure my treasure more? How you answer this last question determines what you should make of Christmas as you look to the future.

What then are the conclusions to be drawn? I invite you to read the second part of this article, which will be posted in the next couple of days. If you find this helpful, feel free to share it with someone who might find it to be of interest.

God bless you and Merry Christmas,

Mark and Caron

[1] (1992). Tyndale Bulletin, 43(1), 30. [2] (1992). Tyndale Bulletin, 43(1), 55–56.[3] Fisher, G. P. (1880). The Old Roman Spirit and Religion in Latin Christianity. The Princeton Review, 1, 167.[4] Warfield, B. B. (1903). Historical Theology. Review of WEIHNACHTEN IN KIRCHE, KUNST UND VOLKSLEBEN by Georg Rietschel. The Princeton Theological Review, I(1–4), 490.