April 2007

Some rough thoughts on contextualization:

What follows is, with a few edits, my thoughts on contextualization of the gospel for Thai Buddhists that I wrote up for one of our Servant Partners trainers who was preparing a teaching on contextualization for the Servant Parnters’ interns in Los Angeles. (April 2007). More polished articles will be forthcoming and posted under my “Writing” page.

The key to my contextualization is that Logos=Tamma. Tamma is widely translated “Dharma” in English, though it is important to note that Theravada (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma), Mahayana (China, Korea, Vietnam), Zen (Japan), and Tibetan Buddhisms are more different from each other than Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox or (I think) Sunni and Shiite Islam, and so popular books in the west that emphasize Zen and Tibetan forms might describe things quite different from what I am referring to. The idea of Tamma is the force behind the universe, the right order of things, the path of righteousness, Truth, Wisdom, etc. When I look up Logos in the Greek lexicon on my computer Bible program, the definition is eerily similar. Tamma is the root word behind nature (tammachat), righteousness (kuamchobtaam), normal (tammada), religious truth (kristtaam or puttaam for Christian and Buddhist respectively), scripture (prakristtaamkampi or praputtaamkampi), the community of saints (tammikachon), etc. John makes the leap in John 1 to say that, “In the beginning was the Tamma, and the Tamma was with God, and the Tamma was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made…..The Tamma became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” Read the rest of this entry »

God, I cry out to you on behalf of the city of Bangkok

I ask you for its redemption

Would you change this city, from top to bottom, from inside out

Bring about a new creation, a new beauty, the vision of the new Jerusalem

I believe this city is not forsaken, but is a city sought out Read the rest of this entry »

I realize now that we (or at least I) cannot pray with perseverance for specific niches of the Kingdom of God in a place without also praying for the larger picture and maintaining connection with it.  As I’ll describe in a future post, I believe that’s because, as Paul teaches, the church is founded on the ministry of the apostles and the prophets, not simply the evangelists and the teachers, as we can often think.

Through the encouragement of a dear friend, I’ve been reminded recently of this vision from five years ago of praying for the entire city of Bangkok to be comprehensively transformed.  I’m back again to crying out to God for the salvation and redemption of every inch of Bangkok, even as it drains me of all energy in the process.  I invite you to join with me in praying for this city.  Its like climbing a mountain, taking everything out of you.  But yet so rewarding also as when you come to beautiful vistas and understand God’s heart for a place and are infected with the knowledge of his character and faith in what he’s going to bring about.

Again, I invite you to join with me in praying for this city.  Let’s pray for the knowledge of God’s goodness to spread to every corner and nook and cranny of this city….

I found a leaf

He said this tree is for the healing of the nations

I saw this leaf said, “Thailand”

“Can I take this?” I asked

“Run,” he responded