Technology, Creativity, and Worship

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Bob

One of my favorite parts of January is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This international show of all things tech showcases most of all the latest and greatest things that are being developed. Some of these may be mere novelty product that’ll never find their way onto the store shelves. Many of them will go though multiple revisions before officially launched, and may not look much like they do at the CES. Yet, all of these products showcase the human creativity that God has placed in each of us.
After all, creativity essential to worship, and technology has been part of that process all the way through the ages. Whether it’s organizing words on a page to be repeated later on, crafting metal into precise horns, harps, and other musical instruments, constructing places of worship, creating stained-glass windows to share the Bible with those who could not read or understand Latin, using modern sound equipment…. It’s all worship, all heavy in creativity, and all requires technology.

But it goes much further than this. Take it back to the very beginning. What were the first two jobs given to Adam? To tend to the garden (Genesis 2:15) and to name the animals (Genesis 2:19-20). Before the fall of man, God commanded Adam to create; to build upon the very creation that God had given him.

Later on in the Old Testament, we see technology and engineering at work with building of alters. God commands Noah to build a massive ship. Then the creation of the Tabernacle, and of course the Temple is later constructed. Technology used in the creative forms of worship to God.

Lastly, we see John’s depiction of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:9-27). A city with a wall, gates, roads of gold, foundations. All of these things came into existance (from a human standpoint) through technology. Why not have a garden come down from heaven like in the beginning? Why a city? God obviously embraces technology in the worship process as He places it in His everlasting dwelling on Earth.

Sure, technology can be used for negative and even evil actions, but so can any object. The wood that God created can be used to build a hospital or to beat a man. The actions are what is evil, not the stuff. Objects don’t have the capability to be good or evil. Does a knife get to choose whether it serves hungry children in an orphanage meal after meal, or if it is used to stab someone? No, it simply exists for the purpose of the person holding it. Does a brick get to choose if it is used to shelter the homeless or used as a weapon? No, it simply exists.

Technology itself should never be blamed for the negative actions of humanity. Just because objects are placed together to create an object intended for malicious usage doesn’t mean the technology behind the abuse is inherently bad as well.

As I look at all the neat – if not nearly useless – stuff that has been created and showcased at the CES, I can’t help but wonder which of these will end up in an act of worship. Probably not the fork and spoon that records your eating habits to tell you to slow down. Maybe the neat tactile touch-screen. Could the 52″ flexible TV screen be used as part of worship? Is it NEEDED? No, but nearly all technology isn’t NEEDED. Buildings and chairs aren’t needed. Neither are roads or 200 feet thick walls that are 1,400 miles high. But I’m certainly not going to argue with how God creatively uses technology.

Redefining Missionary

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Bob

It’s always interesting to me to see how people view the different roles of a Missionary. In the West, the view of a Missionary is often one where you have a white man enter a foreign land, stand on a corner, tell everyone how wrong they are and how he has all the answers, show how superior the West is, and create a group of native followers. To be honest, this view is arrogant, ridiculous, and awful.

Although we don’t “officially” hold the title of “Missionary,” Bethany and I certainly feel this title is appropriate to our work. It is our love of Christ that drew us to reach out to other parts of the world. It is the love of Christ that encouraged us to meet new people, develop relationships, and get involved in what is going on here in China. But how we share our faith must change from the stereotypical norm. (Bare with me – this may get a little long….)

Let me be clear: In no way are we “ashamed” of our faith. We are very open with the fact that we are Christians. We are very open to sharing ideas of the Bible. In China, none of this is illegal. What IS illegal in China is evangelism – or, more specifically, classic Western Evangelism.

So what this means is we are not allowed to walk up to random people and say, “Hey, do you know Jesus?” This means we are not allowed to stand on a street corner with a bull horn and shout at people to tell them they are going to Hell. This means we can not walk down the street and hand out tracts to people.

But, in all honesty, is this really all that bad?

I mean, when was the last time shouting at strangers on a street corner really brought them to Christ? To be honest, I have never found tracts to be all that effective either. How would you react if some stranger walked into your home, started telling you all the things you are doing wrong, and how you should change the way you live? Would you respect them? Would you listen? It was rare for Jesus to find a random stranger, tell that random stranger how to live, and then walk away from him. Why do we think we should be doing this?

The truth is that nearly all of Jesus’ ministering occurred personally and relationally. The few times we do see Jesus correct random strangers (eg. The Woman At The Well), he is coming to those people as a respected authority figure – people care what he has to say. More specifically, we see Jesus ministering in three different ways throughout the Gospels.

The first, and most popular among the West, is by teaching/preaching. His most famous example was the “Sermon On The Mount.” (Matthew 5-7) This is the method that we in the West tend to feel most comfortable with. It’s usually the least intrusive and least amount of responsibility for the teacher. People show up, they listen, they leave. You teach, and then you walk away. There’s little accountability, little responsibility, and little risk involved. Those who want to hear are already there to listen.

The second way Jesus ministered was by confrontation and calling people out. He challenged the religious leaders of the day – the Pharisees – as they tried to challenge Jesus’ authority on religious matters. Some people try to use this as the basis for classic Western “You’re all going to Hell” evangelism. But who was Jesus speaking to? The religious LEADERS – people who supposedly knew and followed God’s law. These people knew God’s Word. These were the people who went to church every week. These were the people who tithed every week, who prayed daily, who were called to represent and lead God’s people. These were the people Jesus called “sons of hell.” (Matthew 23:15) These were the people Jesus verbally smacked around.

Now, is it true that people are going to go to hell if they don’t know God? Yes. But how much good does it do to yell at sick people and tell them over and over they are sick? Everyone knows we’re messed up. It’s obvious to most people this world is broken. Screaming at them won’t help. The recent events in the US has reinforced that.

The last form of ministry Jesus did was relational. Arguably, this was his biggest form of ministry. Jesus had a way of accepting those who didn’t feel accepted – those who were told they weren’t good enough, or failed too many times, or didn’t deserve to be acknowledged. Those were the people we seemed to reach out to the most. And it was his love that brought them close to God – it’s what drew them in.

Zacchaeus was one of those people. He was a tax collector for the Roman Empire. Thus, he was hated by the Jews. Some say he was a JEWISH tax collector. Which would mean he was also a traitor among his own people. But then he had an encounter with Jesus (Luke 19). During this encounter, Jesus took note of Zacchaeus. Jesus simply said he was going to eat at Zacchaeus’ house (which would have been an honor in those days). How did Zacchaeus respond? With repentance! “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (V. 8) What did Jesus say or do to invoke such a response?

Love. Jesus showed love to people. That love typically shown through in the form of compassion and acceptance. He came across prostitutes, thieves, Jews, Samaritans, Romans, the rich, the poor, the lame, the blind, the sick, the outcasts, and so many others. He relationally accepted them all. He never let them stay where they were, but he accepted them nonetheless.

China is a relational culture. We have entered there culture – there home. My job isn’t to change their culture or their laws. My job is to bear the image of Christ. We are here not as authoritative figures, but as (hopefully) humble Americans seeking to make friends, build relationships, learn about them, teach English, and show God’s love through legal means. That is our goal.

It starts by creating relationships. That’s how friends are made. That’s how teaching and learning happens. That’s how God’s love is best seen. That’s how being a “missionary” starts.

Learning Simplicity

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Bob

Being “simple” is not something I’ve ever been good at. It’s hard for me to accept life as being simple. Learning is not simple. Language is not simple. Communication is not simple. Cultural perspectives and customs is not simple. And yet, here I am, striving to find simplicity.

Being in a new country, a new environment, a new culture… I NEED simplicity. Not necessarily simplicity in lifestyle (although some of that does occur), but more of a simplicity in life. It’s not so much a want as much as it’s becoming a necessity.

When we go to restaurants, we don’t have the luxury of asking for them to substitute one item in our dish for another, or for them to leave off a specific item from the dish. (Not that they would remove them anyways.) We still find it very difficult to communicate, and probably will find it to be difficult most, if not all, or our stay. We HAVE to keep it simple.

When we take a taxi to a specific location, and he gets us almost there, but doesn’t pull up exactly where we want him to, there is no complaining or fussing or urging him to continue that last 1% of the journey. We keep it simple (and are grateful that he understood us enough to get us THAT far!).

Of course, there are occasions where simplicity simply isn’t enough. After all, it’s a complex world no matter what country you are in! But we take those moments a little at a time. And we have made good friends who are gracious enough to help us through some of those moments. Sometimes those moments are paperwork. (Oh, the joys of bureaucracy!) Sometimes those moments are working with Internet or cell phone services. But even those can be simplified more so than what I am use to. I don’t have the luxury of being super picky regarding much of my technology. Sometimes things will only be 95% of where I want them to be. And I have to be accepting of that.

But living a life of simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In many ways, it’s kind of freeing. As long as I take care of my end of the paperwork process, I let our representative from the college worry about what department the paperwork needs to go to, or who needs to stamp what form where. I just follow along and relax. There’s nothing I can do or say to make the situation any better – I can’t even speak the language to understand or try! I have someone who is there to represent us and help us out. If I step back and let them do their thing, then I will typically be fine.

This is a culture that relies on other people. This is how they live, and what they expect. Even more so from someone who doesn’t speak their language. I can’t walk around being the “Independent American” very long. And that’s what are friends are here for – to help us out and enjoy doing life together.

Simplicity doesn’t mean “not frustrating.” Simplicity certainly has it’s frustrations. But it’s even more frustrating trying to achieve a complex task when simplicity would serve a nearly identical purpose with much less headaches. Battles must be chosen wisely, and should probably not be chosen often.

Simplicity can be tough to accept, but I think overall I’m going to like it.

Looking For A Role

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Bob

When we knew we would be making this move to China, one thing that was always up in the air was my role. We knew Bethany would be teaching, but what would I do? I’ve got a few web projects going right now, and that can certainly keep me busy, but it doesn’t directly affect the ministry that we are involved in. It doesn’t directly affect the impact (not matter how small that might be) we are trying to make to serve China.

But God is faithful. My job is to simply keep all options open as I wait to see where He wants me to be.

This past week, we had two guests visit with us in this little City. One of the leaders of Amity, the organization that placed Bethany as a teacher, and one of the leaders of the Missions Division of the United Methodist Church Global Ministries Board both came out to visit us on Monday. It was a real treat to visit with them as they checked in on us to get our feeling of how things were going. They also met with the School to see if there was any improvements that needed to be relayed to Bethany. Sitting down with each of these leaders one at a time was a special treat.

But what really made me excited during this time was when I heard that Amity MIGHT be seeking a web programmer to update their website! This is just what I’ve been hoping for – something to help keep me in the industry, as well as allow me to be directly involved in ministry and organizations over here!

I’m still keeping my options open. I have not been given this position with Amity, although I am actively seeking it. I still need to get all my information organized for them. But I have been in contact with the officials in charge of making this decision. This decision won’t come quickly. I have been praying about this possibility, and I hope that it is something that God allows to take place. Bethany and I have grown to love this organization and the work that they do in China and for China. It would be an honor to work for them.

In the mean time, we’re still working to get our residence cards. For me, this meant going to get a pretty thorough physical midway through the week. It was quite humorous for me to hear that the nurse thinks I should eat less and exercise more. If you know anything about me, then you know that I’m not what you would consider to be “overweight.” But these are China Standards, not US Standards. And by China Standards, I might just be a little overweight. Climbing several flights of stairs everyday should change that rather quickly though. As time goes on, we’ll see how much exercising really needs to take place.

So now I’m preparing to give a presentation to several classes this week. The topic – “American Culture”. I’ll be able to share several different aspects of the American Culture – from family, education, to college life, to work. It should be fun. I’m actually looking forward to it. The more exposure I get before the students, the more comfortable they can get with me, the more likely I’ll be able to get to know them, learn from them, work with them, and build relationships with them. I do want to be involved in the campus with Bethany. These small presentations will hopefully all that to continue to happen.

And that’s where I’m at with my role: Keep my programming skills sharp, seek opportunities more involved in the ministry we’re doing here, and stay involved with the campus. I might even say the last two are more important than the first.

After all, relationships are key. And we’ve been able to build a few relationships thus far. I pray that we can keep these relationships going and be able to build more. As time goes on, these will become more clear, as will my role over here. One day at a time.

Arriving, Riding, and Adjusting

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Bob

So I’ve been in China now for almost a week! In this time, I’ve reunited with Bethany, explored Beijing, rode in a Chinese train, subway, bus, and taxi on multiple occasions, and spoken in several classes! I’ve seen several of the JiNing marketplaces, eaten at many of the restaurants, and even tried a couple bakeries! Sometimes I think to myself, “What have we gotten ourselves into!” But in the end, I can do nothing but smile, knowing that this is where God has placed us.

Out of all the differences between China and America, the one that stands out to me the most is the roadways. In China, the drivers are very aggressive. Swerving in and out of lanes is simply part of driving. If you aren’t honking your horn for people, bikes and other cars to get out of your way, then you are part of the problem and need to get out of someone else’s way! The traffic lights are strictly observed, but the painted lines on the road are optional at best. Traffic police are there to simply make sure traffic keeps flowing, so you can forget about enforcing anything.

Obviously, this kind of driving would cause many accidents in America. Yet, somehow, it works very well in China! I have yet to see a single accident in my time in the country! To be honest, it is very impressive!

As I’ve attended classes with Bethany, I’ve learned how grateful the University is to have native English speakers around. I’ve spoken in all of Bethany’s classes this week, made plans to speak in another teacher’s class, and also dropped into a third teacher’s classroom today and tomorrow! Not only does this give me quite a bit of exposure to the students, but also to the teachers as well. I personally think this is going to be crucial in developing relationships with the people here.

Assisting Bethany in class this week has been fun. I taken on my traditional role as the ridiculous, silly “Měiguó de” (American). As Bethany is teaching about different aspects of Halloween this week, I’ve been her sound box, making all the necessary sound effects as we come across the appropriate vocabulary words – howling, shrieking, cackling…. It’s been a lot of fun. We even played charades with the Halloween vocabulary. I went first with my werewolf impression to start the game off. If it can make me seem more lighthearted and approachable, it will be well worth it.

Living here certainly will have it’s challenges. Right now, we are limited to restaurants with pictures on their menus. Bethany discovered what bus will take us to the market, not by reading the Chinese bus schedule, but by walking there and seeing what buses pass by. Holding up fingers to represent quantities is crucial. Adapting to the Chinese standard of appliances and comfort is certainly shaping me. Learning the language is slow at best – if not stagnant at times. But all of these can be overcome. It’s just a matter of time.

So the goal right now is to get settled in and into a rhythm – a much needed part of my personality. This rhythm will help with building relationships, allow us to plan things out, and give me mental consistency. As for now, as I seek out the basic patterns for the needed rhythm, I’m simply enjoying the ride, even if that ride might be swerving through traffic.