Chiang Mai Orality Network

Recently I wrote a blog saying that “… the world breathed a sigh of relief when the news came that the 12 Thai soccer team members who had been trapped for 9 days in a cave near the golden triangle had been rescued.” A comment on my blog reminded me that they had been found, but were not yet out of the cave. Now that they have been safely rescued, we can rejoice and also pause to think of possible lessons that can be learned:

1. Finding the lost is relatively easy compared to getting them safely out of the pit. Christian research groups have identified 7,000 Unreached People Groups (UPGs) globally, comprising 42% of the world’s population. The approximately  21 million Isaan people of Northeast Thailand number in the top 50 of these 7,000 groups. This Isaan group is a part of the more than 60 million Thai Buddhists that are in great need of a gospel witness.
2. Major obstacles and sacrifices will be faced in order to free those trapped. Trained divers took up to 6 hours in order to reach the soccer team. They faced strong currents, near-zero visibility, narrow passages and lack of oxygen (one of their number died in the effort). The human and financial cost of the effort was substantial, but was a minor concern when 13 souls were at stake. How much more effort and money should be expended when you think of the billions of eternal souls that remain trapped in the cave of sin and death, and separated from God and unaware of Jesus their only possible rescuer.
3. Access to Reached People Groups (RPG) is easy compared to unreached people groups. Reached groups have easy access to the gospel and would compare with people trapped near the mouth of a cave. Unreached groups, however, due to their situation “in the depths of the pit”, will require a massive rescue operation with national and international teams joining hands in the effort. For most, the idea of unreached groups brings to mind a remote tribe in the depth of a tropical jungle. However, in today’s world, the vast majority of the unreached are more likely to live in “concrete jungles” which are readily accessible (like Tokyo or Bangkok) but are still “in the depths of the pit”, untouched by the Good News. Such urban dwellers might have Christian neighbours who live close by yet they stay separated from the gospel due to their world view. The Thai soccer team was separated from the outside world by less than 500 meters – but those 500 meters consisted of solid rock. Similarly, these unreached people might be close in terms of physical distance, but the gospel has yet to penetrate the ‘solid rock’ of their world view assumptions and misconceptions. Yet when the gospel of truth does penetrate the darkness, we have seen wonderful changes when these people are ‘brought out into the light’.
4. After being rescued, people need to be brought to spiritual health. Once rescued the first major concern was the health of the soccer team. They had been in extreme conditions for over two weeks and were weak and many sick. The fledgling church in many parts of Asia is weak, often struggling, and in great need of strong biblical discipleship and follow-up.

The world breathed a sigh of relief when the news came that the 12 Thai soccer team members who had been trapped for 9 days in a cave near the golden triangle had been found. Yet now we realize that finding them is relatively easy compared to rescuing them from their watery grave. There was a similar joy when the 32 Chilean miners were found alive after 17 days of searching back in 2010. However, it took a massive international effort taking 69 days to actually rescue them. Three parables in Luke 15 illustrate a similar joy when a housewife, shepherd and father find what they had been so diligently looking for. Yet with the prodigal son, more work needed to be done before true restoration could be accomplished.

The same is true in missions today. We have found and identified most all of the UPGs (Unreached People Groups) in the world. The harder work is to show them that Jesus is the only one who finds [spiritually] lost people and rescues them. The Thai are one such UPG, numbering 69 million souls. There are hundreds more UPGs throughout East Asia. Who will be willing to leave their comfortable surroundings to make the effort and count the cost of going into the pit to pull them out?

I just spoke at a church camp for 70 Thai people. I counted only 11 males which works out to a 1 to 7 ratio. On a regular Sunday, this church has a higher ratio of males to females, but overall the predominance of women in Thai churches is a well known fact.  An article from the West, “Why Women Are More Religious” prompted me to sit down and reflect on this same phenomenon here in Thailand. There are many factors that contribute to the high percentage of women in Thai churches. I will mention only six:

1. Security – Thai women often gravitate to the security offered by God, especially when faced with financial, parenting, cultural and relational pressures.
2. Time constraints – Thai men often put you off by claiming that making a living takes up most all their time.
3. Social differences – Boys are often raised in female dominated households where they become used to women taking the lead in both domestic and religious life. This tends to create a lackadaisical or “sabai” (ease/comfort) lifestyle on the part of males, whereas Christianity demands a strong commitment of both time and energy.
4. Gender differences – Thai women are naturally nurturers, sacrificial and networkers. Accepting an invitation to church is not so difficult for a female, but becomes a major step for a Thai male.
5. Church environment – Thai men, upon entering a church, can feel that it is suited more to women due to the predominance of women/children, testimonies dominated by females and emotionally oriented music, etc. Developing and discipling new male converts is often seen as a long and difficult task for Thai church leaders, and as a result more attention is given to discipling seemingly more pliable females.
6. Positive Male Examples – Many have written about why the first disciples to witness the resurrection were all women. The Father heart of God and winsome appeal of Jesus continues to be a strong appeal to Thai women who, like women in the first century, were often disenfranchised within their society.

Pray that Thai churches will be able to address this disparity and develop creative ways to draw more men into significant roles of leadership both in their homes and in the church.

Researchers answer: Why are woman more religious?  By Bob Ditmer

One glaring concern missionaries have working in Thailand is Biblical illiteracy. One Thai leader admitted, “Thai Christians are unable to put events in the Bible into any sort of a timeline. This affects negatively their ability to understand both sermons and in their own personal study.” Having been exposed to Walk Thru the Bible in seminary made me think of how WTB OT/NT might be part of the solution for the Thai. WTB is a creative, participatory and fun cross-cultural teaching method for all ages that helps the Thai recall key Bible events, people and places. Knowing the framework of the Bible allows the Thai to see the big picture of God’s Grand Story of Redemption from Genesis to Revelation. The newest version condenses the OT/NT down to only 80 key points, each supported by a hand sign. The 40 points for each section are always taught in a live seminar which usually lasts three hours. It can also be incorporated into a six-week church wide campaign including suggested sermons, small group materials, vdos and a 40 day devotional. It is a blessing to see the Thai churches I’ve taught start to review the 40 points and use them immediately. Presently tribal workers are starting to put the WTB into various languages. Do pray that WTB will expand into local Thai churches and Bible schools throughout Thailand.

http://www.walkthru.org/list-of-events/old-testament

I just got word that Billy Graham passed into glory at 99 years old. I immediately thought of the impact that his life had on me as a young Christian. I grew up watching Graham before color TV in Oklahoma and followed his exploits around the globe (total of 185 countries). As a world renowed evangelest, the Urbana Mission Conference of 1976 asked him to be the plenary speaker ).

Urbana is a tri-annual conference, which I had the privilege of attending three years previously, along with 17,000 other young people who were seeking to discern God’s will for their life and ministry. At that Urbana I signed a card smaller than a post card, yet that decision card propelled me to eventually apply with OMF in 1978. I am now 40 years into that journey. Some thirty years after my first Urbana I found myself again at this conference as a OMF mobilizer. OMF almost rejected me since the conference was a “young peoples conference” and they were looking for younger mobilizers. This time I was accompanied by my wife and three of my four children. Two of my children were impacted for missions at that Urbana with one ending up as a missionary to muslims in Albania and a second presently preparing for a possible ministry as a mission pilot. Billy Graham’s Radio program I watched as a youth was called, “The Hour of Decision”. The decision card I signed in 1973 expressed my “hour of decision” for missions, a decision that I hope this generation will consider seriously as they discern God’s will for their life and ministry.

Recordings Urbana conference 1976