Posts filed under 'Bernie's Blog'
I had the day perfectly planned. We were going to have a day in the Mongolian countryside with Renee’s folks. It was so exciting to have them here with us and we wanted to show them the beauty that this country has to offer - particularly outside of the city (beauty is tough to come by inside the city). So we were going to go to Terelj National Park for a cookout and a picnic. We knew of a nice shaded spot on the river where we could set up the grill. Cori was taking her best friend, Jeanie. We had the car packed with grilling and picnicing gear. I had laid down the cash for some American made "Kingston" Charcoal - which is pretty tough to find around here. We even took our dog Sadie along for the outing - and she was thrilled.
We were at about the half-way point when Renee’ asked the question.
Renee:Â "Did you get the meat?"
Silence.
Bernie: "I got the cooler. It was zipped. I assumed you had put the meat in the cooler"
Renee: "No, you went to the store to get zip-lock bags to put the meat into before it went into the cooler. I was waiting until you got back"
Jonathan: Oh my gosh, you’ve got to be kidding me, you guys forgot the meat? Let\’s just go back home.
So the conversation went. Needless to say, we didn’t go back home (in spite of Jonathan’s protests). We had baked beans and brownies and Pringles potato chips, along with drinks. We were good. Jonathan still didn’t see the point in going on without meat. He’s part Mongolian in that sense. A meal is not really a meal if there is no meat involved - but we talked him through it okay. We unloaded the car, and now that we didn’t need a grill there was less to carry. Jonathan had wanted us to try and run over a farm animal on the way so at least we could grill something. But I didn’t listen to his barbaric, carnivorous suggestions. At least we had baked beans.
Until I dumped them all on the ground in an attempt to move to a different picnic spot.Â
So we had a picnic of Pringles and brownies and Coke. I am just grateful Renee’ made the brownies. To top it all off, we did have a jar of Rheba’s pickles that we ate some of (she makes incredible sweet pickles). Unfortunately the jar broke, and we lost most of them, as well. So went the picnic that was a series of unfortunate events. We didn’t eat much. But we enjoyed each other’s company and the Mongolian countryside. I must say that Sadie had the time of her life and is still sleeping off of her day of excitement (run in with a cow and everything).
This morning we we had an early morning airport run and had to say goodbye (again) to Renee’s folks - and to our kids, as they will be spending the next six weeks or so in the States. I miss them this morning. I will miss them during the time they are gone, and will look forward to the day they come back to Mongolia. This morning as I prepare a message for our church from Hebrews 11, I am reminded again that I am living for something that is yet to come. When Jonathan and Cori return to Mongolia I will be at the airport, looking into the baggage claim area trying to get a glimpse of them prior to our happy reunion. "Having seen them and greeted them from afar" (Hebrews 11:13) I look forward to the day of being reunited with my kids. I look forward to the day when we will see many of the readers of this blog once again. I look forward to being able to see my parents and friends and loved ones who seem so far away right now. I look forward to the day when Jesus will wipe away every tear and make right every wrong and we will receive everything that he has promised. Jesus makes this life bearable - and even good - because of His promises for all that is to come. Therefore, I don’t mind being a stranger in this land and I don’t so much mind broken pickle jars and spilled beans and forgotten meat. I can even live with the pain and angst involved with missing my kids and other family members - short and long term. Jesus knows. He is good. He will grant all that he has promised. Some in this life. Most in the next.
In spite of what many best selling authors are saying, my best life is not now. And frankly, I am really okay with that.
June 8th, 2008
The past month or two have been some of the most difficult that we have faced since coming to Mongolia. The enemy seems to be working overtime to get us to quit - or at the very least to sink us in a mire of discouragement and despair. I feel that we have been battered on the rocks and are having to really make a conscious effort to place our hope and our trust in Christ. Relationships have been under fire and I fear that some have been forever tainted.
These kinds of attacks have me thinking a lot about my relationships and, specifically, the kinds of relationships I would like to be in for my own spiritual health and well being. Obviously friendships come at many different levels. I married the best friend I’ve ever known - and frankly I am happy that I share my journey through this life with her. In one year we will have been walking this road for twenty years together. I am really grateful for her friendship, companionship and love. It’s a constant. It’s a covenant. Our friendship with each other has been the one stabilizing factor over the past two years (and really for the better part of 20 years).
In spite of this, we have both felt the reality and the loneliness of friendlessness, which has given way to a lot of thought about what a real friendship should look like.
A few years ago I did some research about a concept in ancient Celtic Christian spirituality called ‘anam chara’. No, this is not a Mongolian word. It is actually a Gaelic word. The Mongolian word for this would be something like ’setgliin naits’. The best English translation is probably ’soul friend’.
I will not get into the different ideas of what a ’soul friend’? looks like in the modern era. There are several books written on the subject - some better than others. Some writers say that in ancient times this was like a modern mentor/mentee relationship. Some say it’s more like a coach. Some put it into the same category as a spiritual director. I personally think it can be something of all these things … and more.
The relational rough waters and friendlessness over the past months (and even two years) has me thinking a lot about what a “Soul Friend� relationship should look like. In fact, this summer (July 1-4), I will be teaching some of this at the CAMA Mongolia church leadership camp. So it is good to begin thinking through now.
1. Mutual. Many writers say that the idea of soul friendship is not one of mutual friendship. It’s more of finding someone who is older, smarter and wiser than you and connecting with them and being open, available and vulnerable. Your soul friend would then have no obligation to be such with you. I don’t agree with that perspective. I take the side of those who argue that it is a relationship of mutuality. Mutual submission. Mutual vulnerability. Mutual availability. I know that there may or may not be historical evidence of this (I think that there may be, but I will let those better versed in ancient Celtic church history duke that out somewhere else). In this day and age, my personal vision for this is one of mutuality. In other words, the idea of a soul friendship is the idea of a ‘two way street’?.
2. Trust. I don’t think this can be overemphasized. Soul friendship is a relationship that is based on trust. One of the key elements of a soul friendship (at least as I understand it) is vulnerability. The exposed soul is vulnerable and unprotected. The soul friend is someone who will handle the soul with care and point the heart back to God. A friend like this will not take advantage or use vulnerability as leverage for his or her own purposes later. Trust in a relationship also has to do with the ability to truthfully expose issues in one another’s life (the things we know are there, but are blinded to), but to do it in a way that will build the relationship and not tear it down. I have to know that this friend is not going to ditch me once he knows my rough spots and I am exposed for what’s really there. Trust is huge. It’s also very difficult to find.
3. Confession. The soul friendship is the place where the spiritual discipline of confession should regularly take place. This was a big difference between the Roman Church and the Celtic church. Confession was not something that was done solely with clergy. The doctrine of the priesthood of the believers was alive and well in fifth and sixth century Ireland. Your ‘confessor’ was your soul friend. Evangelicals have relegated ‘confession’ to a Roman Catholic rite, and not something important enough to fit into our religious practice. I believe that is one of the reasons for modern evangelical superficiality and silliness. Contemporary evangelical spirituality would look quite different if we actually practiced the spiritual discipline of confession. Not with a priest, but rather with a soul friend.
4. Life-long traveling companions. Much like the culture we are in midst of now, the ancient Celts were nomadic by nature. (I am finding there to be many similarities between ancient Celtic culture and Mongolian culture. Perhaps someday I will post those similarities in article form.) The idea of a soul friend was that of ‘traveling companion’. It was someone who would be with you on your spiritual journey until the end, and you crossed into the ‘better city’. The soul friend is someone who is to be trusted throughout a whole lifetime. You are, in essence, traveling companions. I love this idea.
I personally love this idea. However, it is not something that we have experienced to any kind of fullness. So far in my life relationships have taken on a more disconnected character, and tend to be relegated to location. I hope that at some point in the relatively short time I have left on this earthly journey, we have the privilege and opportunity to walk in this kind of relationship with another fellow traveler.
May 19th, 2008
Last week Renee’ and I had an enjoyable time hosting a vision team from Crossroads Fellowship in Clarksville, TN. We were able to take them to see various parts of the C&MA work in Darhan, Erdenet and Bulgan - as well as share future ministry possibilities here in Ulaanbaatar.ÂÂ
There are a lot of fun stories that I could tell here (from "Bobble-Head" to horse-guts. You probably had to be there), but I there was one incident that was most memorable (for me, anyway). We were visiting Jeremy and Renee’ Bergevin in Bulgan. My friends Larry and Melissa, along with Jeremy, Renee’, Baby Clara and I went on a mission. I have a friend in language school who met a nomadic herding family outside of Bulgan. She wanted me to take them a gift and letter. The problem is that finding a nomadic herding family can prove to be a little tricky because they’re … well … nomadic. One never really knows where a nomadic family might be at any given point in time.ÂÂ
The day started with Jeremy and I asking around the market for this particular family. The first people we asked knew exactly who they were. This was a good sign. The sales lady called someone else from across the market. She knew them even better and told us which direction to start heading. "Take the Ulaanbaatar Road toward the town of Urhang and ask around". So we did. We stopped at several gers, in fact. Each person knew who we were looking for and kept pointing us further and further out into the countryside. We finally ended up finding this family in a ger off any main road. We followed a literal cattle path through a field as the snow started to fall in order to get there. But in the end, we found them.ÂÂ
We were treated to classic Mongolian hospitality, with milk tea and bread, cream and jam. The man showed us his 96 head of horses. Melissa got to milk a baby goat whose mother had been eaten by a wolf ten days before, along with two baby goats who were only a couple of days old. It was a good adventure with good memories in the Mongolian outback.
(Jeremy and the husband discussing horses)
May 14th, 2008
There are some days when I am put to shame. Today was one of those days. Before I explain, please let me introduce you to our friend and co-laborer, Dogi.
(Dogi with Yeruuloo and her friend Onong)
We met Dogi for the first time in 2003. Dogi translated for my friend Mark (who will be joining our team this summer!) and I while we taught the book of Galatians at ABTC in Darhan.
It was good to reconnect with Dogi again in 2006 when we moved to UB.
Dogi is now married to a great young man named Erka (Erka is also Jonathan’s guitar teacher), and a beautiful little boy named … Jonathan! (His Mongolian name is Yeruuloo.) Dogi is one of the founders of our little student church, and has been in leadership from the beginning. However, the one thing that Dogi loves doing more than anything in service to the church is leading worship. She leads every week with great enthusiasm and spirituality. She has also become a very important part of our Thursday night leadership training class. Because of our limited language, we are in need of a good translator each week. Dogi has been a real answer to prayer and is becoming a vital member of our team.
Today during after the morning message, there was a testimony time in our church. Dogi stood up and shared how God is showing himself faithful to her. Dogi’s husband, Erka works with YWAM Mongolia - enabling them to live at the YWAM base just outside of town. Dogi is responsible for food for the entire base staff (approximately 30 people). Last week they had no money, and Dogi was worried about all of the people at the base going hungry. So she did what she knew. She prayed. “Father, you know our need. You know we have no money. And these folks need to eat.� Of course, God once again proved his faithfulness. Someone who had no idea about the needs on the base brought two large containers full of meat. She also shared how God provided for diapers for their little boy, and her bus fare back into the city for Sunday. What impresses me so much about Dogi is her obvious deep desire to learn what it means to live by faith. Her life is not necessarily an easy one. Salaries in Mongolia are not high. Life here can be difficult. I have talked to Dogi about this. Her response is humbling. She says with a cheerful heart, “It’s okay. I believe that God is teaching me to trust Him and depend on Him.�
I am humbled by Dogi’s faith. She trusts as a child. She trusts while I gripe and whine. Her childlike faith is actually what makes her mature and Christlike. I have to believe that her faith is the kind that Jesus is impressed with. I know that I am.
April 7th, 2008
(This is the text of an email I wrote to some friends who read "There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub: Birth of a Mongolian Church planting movement". I think this is an important book for those of us who are called to to work in Mongolia. But I also think it highlights some of the issues that Mongolia still faces today. This is kind of a long post, and I know there may be many of our RememberMongolia readers who will not find this of interest. However, for what it’s worth, I am going to post it anyway.)
I finished Brian Hogan’s book "There is a Sheep in My Bathtub" about two months ago or so.  I am just getting around now to writing up some of my thoughts about the book.  I really should have written this while it was still fresh on my mind - so I hope I am not working from a dim memory.  In any case, I really appreciate your sending the book to me - and I have enjoyed reading some of the recent history of the field here.  I have met folks who know the Hogans and the Leatherwoods, and I have met Mongolian believers who were at one point a part of their ministry, as well.  I must say that I greatly appreciate the sacrifice and the work of these pioneers, and I am particularly impressed with the way God worked in the Hogan family while they were in the process of burying their son.  My hat is off to them for this. ÂÂ
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I also appreciate the church planting emphasis, particularly in a place where the church had not been planted before.  His use of Church Planting Movement (CPM) principles was right - and Biblical.  This is an excellent case study of classic missiological principles such as indigenous church planting, contextualization, and staying away from unhealthy dependency by quickly turning the work over to national believers, and making a departure.  This is good stuff. ÂÂ
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However, there are a few Mongolia specific missiological issues this book brings up  that I would like to either clarify or, if need be, take issue with.ÂÂ
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1. The City of Ulaanbaatar.  I take issue with Hogan’s comments regarding the city.  I may be wrong, but I detected a tone of "get me out of Ulaanbaatar and out where the ‘real’ lost people are".  Particularly on page 56 where he says, "Getting out of Ulaanbaatar was as vital to our success as making sure we didn’t end up living in the Sansar Missionary Ghetto".  I hear comments like this frequently.  I have heard friends and coworkers from both our organization and from other organizations working in country make these kinds of statements.  I get the impression sometimes that working in the city is only for ‘city-slickers’ who can’t really handle the difficult lifestyle and lack of conveniences that is true of rural areas of Mongolia.  I heard one person make the statement of "why would I stay in UB where there are some churches and opportunities to hear the Gospel when I can go to the countryside where there are no churches and no opportunities".  The Korean Missionary Association has ceased church planting efforts in UB because they have declared it as "saturated".  There is this romantic view of the Mongolian countryside among both Mongolian people and many missionaries.  I hear talk from a lot of Christian workers who have the idea that UB is just a ’stopover’, and the real missionary work is going to be done in the rural ‘unreached’ areas of Mongolia.  I want to qualify what I am about to say.  a. I believe calling to a place is important.  So if a person is called to Western Mongolia, or the West side of Chicago - obedience is key issue.  b. I love the Mongolian countryside, as well!  It’s beautiful.  I think the nomadic culture of the people there is also beautiful and of high interest.  c. Without compromise, the unreached people of of rural mongolia must be reached. This is a non-negotiable fact.ÂÂ
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However, in order to reach this country, we must effectively reach the capital city - and this city is far from what would be considered "reached" by any reasonable standard.  The entire country is coming to the city.  If a student wants to be educated, he or she must usually come to UB.  This past September, 250,000 + students came to the city from all over the country in order to attend University.  That number grows every year.  The city itself is growing exponentially, because people come with hope for jobs and a better life.  Many of these people end up living in ger districts all around the outskirts of town, where water and power and basic services are lacking, and in some cases non-existent.  UB is the political, cultural, educational, social, technological, spiritual (etc., etc.,) epicenter of the nation.  It’s not a pretty place.  It’s not really even a fun place to live (trust me, there are days when the quiet clean air, and majestic yet pastoral landscapes of rural Mongolia look really nice, when compared to the smoke, traffic, pollution and noise of the city).  However, it is critical that we make city disciples who are willing to give their lives away for the sake of their countrymen.  It is critical that we disciple students who will be able to effectively reach their friends and family back in their notak (their home province).  It is critical that we raise up a church that will seek ways to address the issues of city life in Ulaanbaatar in a Biblical, Christ-like, God-honoring manner.  I know there will be some called specifically to rural and unreached places - however, I firmly believe that as an organization we must not abandon the city under some misconceived idea that it’s ‘reached’.  It’s under-reached, at best.  The christians here are few and far between and the church is weak across the board - and that’s putting it graciously.
2.  Evangelism in Mongolia.  I want to address some misconceptions that I think this book has fostered somewhat.  I believe that this is an accurate history of what happened in Mongolia during the 1990’s when the country first opened to the Gospel.  There was an unprecedented openness to the Gospel.  We can rejoice that took place.  There were many new genuine believers who came to Christ during that era, and who are still following as disciples of Jesus today.  Many churches were started.  Some of those still exist today, as well.  In fact there are statistics now that say there are about 40,000 Christians in Mongolia.  Now while that’s still only about 1.3% of the population, that would seem a good start.  Some would say the work here is finished.  I have heard and read people say (mostly people who have never been here) "Things are happening in Mongolia, there are church planting movements (CPM) going on there".  I want to dispel that rumor.  There were some significant CPM’s happening here at one point.  However, right now more churches are disappearing than they are appearing.  I have read some recent statistics that the actual number of believers in Mongolia is not increasing, but is actually decreasing.  I don’t have actual research to back up why this is happening - but I speculate that it has much to do with the fact that church was merely planted, but not nurtured and established to the point where she can actually sustain herself (more on that in a minute).  Evangelism here is typically not taking place by Mongolians reaching other Mongolians.  Most of the evangelism that I have seen takes place with a foreigner (or when a team comes), and is usually done with total strangers.  I believe that the church needs to be retooled with culturally appropriate ways to share their faith.  The church will not become sustainable until that really takes place.  It’s very strange to me to see a church that is new - and yet, so ingrown.  I am suspicious that westerners and Koreans have imported some bad habits.  One of the things that really needs to happen here (I believe) is the development of a spirituality that is truly Mongolian - and not Western/Korean imports. ÂÂ
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It is not unusual to meet someone who “was a Christian 5 years ago.â€? This is the person who saw the American and Korean Christians come in and saw Christianity as a meal ticket (or a plane ticket). Now they have returned to Buddhism, Shamanism, atheism or a combination of the three. However, they are still part of the 40,000 count.ÂÂ
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Now in defense of Brian Hogan and his work - There were several incidents stated in his book where he and his team worked to do just that.  The name of God issue being one of them (page 105-106).  "In new mission fields people tend to reject the message when it’s presented in alien cultural forms".  True, right and good.  I would take that statement a step further and say that people will not understand or embrace for the long term a Christian Spirituality that is also in alien cultural form.  I believe this is something that those of us who are working here need to study, understand and walk with Mongolian brothers and sister in this process of discovery.  In other words, this contextualization principle needs to continue beyond mere Gospel presentation, to all areas of Christian living.  This takes time - blood, sweat and tears.ÂÂ
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3. When is the church really planted? Which really leads to one of my major issues with a lot of contemporary missiology.  There is a sense in which I applaud the efforts of folks like Hogan who have a vision of getting in, planting the church and getting out.  This is a good contradiction  to those who have the old imperialistic view of mission and establish the local church in such a way that the foreigner always maintains control.  My criticism here is not directed at Brian Hogan, because I believe that they did as they were directed of God - and that they walked in obedience to that.  However, there are more and more people that are saying that long term Missions is a thing of the past and I believe there is a danger in moving cross-cultural ministry into a minimalist short-term (2-3 years) work, rather than long term work of truly understanding and embracing language and culture, making disciples within the context of that language and culture, and establishing a church that will be able to sustain itself until Christ returns.  While I think it’s good to quickly  transition national believers into leadership roles, I also think that it’s terribly short-sighted to believe that a church will become deeply rooted,  impactful and sustainable in such a short period of time, without further assistance.  The church in Mongolia grew wide quickly.  However, the depth of the church never went very deep at all. The church planting movement (CPM) that is recorded in this book started well.  There were 800 some people involved with that particular CPM when they left the field.  Today that church in Erdenet still exists.  However, I have been told that it has about 150 people involved today.  This is no disrespect to the Hogans - I am just making the point that the CPM’s that began in the 90’s are not continuing today.  But it does seem that the best picture of the church in Mongolia is that of a revolving door.
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I am also seeing that church planting and evangelism is not enough.  While these things are pieces (and an important, must not be neglected pieces) of the Great Commission, it is not the sum total of our task.  We are to make disciples - and I believe that means make disciples who are able to make more disciples.  This means the church needs leaders who are trained to work and think in theologically astute ways.  My personal vision is that the church in Mongolia will one day have pastors, leaders, writers, missionaries, theologians, artists and songwriters who are able to accurately and effectively communicate the Gospel in a way that is uniquely Mongolian.  Right now, we’re a long way from that.  So while I appreciate the frontier missions movement, and it’s emphasis on the unreached peoples of the world - I think we need to be careful to not see the unreached peoples as a grocery list that gets checked off, and when it’s checked we’re finished.  Making disciples is bigger than checking off everyone on the Joshua Project list (as big a job as this is!).  This will still require those who are called to do so to invest a large amount of time and energy (and life) to cross culture and live the Christian life in the middle of that culture in order to train a church for sustainable strength for years to come.  I won’t take any more time than I’ve taken in this email, but I believe that careful exposition of the work and methodology of Paul will show that he did more than hit and run church planting.
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This approach also grossly underestimates the deep roots of Shamanism and the deceptive nature of Buddhism. It ignores that fact that Mongolians lived in a God-less vacuum for 70 years under the former USSR. It is going to take more than a couple of years of Sunday School lessons to see long-term change happen.
Again, I want to emphasize that I am not criticizing Brian Hogan or the work he and his team has done in Mongolia.  Nor am I in any way minimizing the sacrifice they made in their time in Mongolia.  There is a place and a need for mission pioneers like the Hogans.  However, as someone living and working here now - I want to say that not only is the job not finished, yet.  It’s not even close.ÂÂ
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March 29th, 2008
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