Upside-Down Missions (Missio Dei and the Cross)

I am reading an article this morning before going to language class that I believe to be important enough to share here. Christianity Today has published an article by Christopher J.H.Wright that speaks to many issues concerning Missions in the 21st Century. I think it is well worth reading and should be thought through and discussed.

I could write several articles surrounding my own thoughts on the Missiological issues that he brings up. However, I am going to refrain at the moment (I have to go to Language class!) However, I did want to quote what Wright wrote (that's sort of fun to say outloud) regarding the Cross and Missions. It's a timely word for me this morning.

Why is the Cross just as important across the whole field of mission? Because in all forms of Christian mission, we are confronting the powers of evil and the kingdom of Satan�with all their dismal effects on human life and the wider creation. If we are to proclaim and demonstrate the reality of the kingdom of God and his justice, then we will be in direct conflict with the usurped reign of the evil one. In all such work, social or evangelistic, we confront the reality of sin and Satan. In all such work, we challenge the darkness of the world with the light and Good News of Jesus Christ and the reign of God through him.

By what authority can we do so? On what basis dare we challenge the chains of Satan, in word and deed, in people's spiritual, moral, physical, and social lives? Only the Cross. The Cross must be as central to our social engagement as it is to our evangelism. There is no other power, no other resource, no other name through which we can offer the whole gospel to the whole person and the whole world than Jesus Christ crucified and risen.

2006 Holiday Memories (or Pictures of our first Christmas in Mongolia)

I wanted to post a few family photos from the holidays. Some are from Christmas morning. Some are from our open house gathering. Some are from New Year's, with a few shots from 'around town'. You can see all of these photo's and more on our Photos page. Check it out!



This was at our Christmas open house with our team. All of the older kids from the field are here. They barely fit on the steps!


Gabe, Enoch and Jonathan ...eating. They do that a lot...


We actually drugged our puppy. She was wonderfully sedate for the evening.


Suhkbaatar Square decorated for New Year's. They don't really celebrate CHristmas here, so much - but New Year's was huge. Fireworks, lights, music ... all night long.


Khan Bootz - Mongolian Fast Food Restaurant decorated for the holidays.


Cori and our language teacher's daughter Mongol-Jin being silly on the stairway.


Christmas Morning at the Anderson's


Cori's new stereo


Jonathan's new guitar (left-handed and upside down, just like Hendrix...)


Intriguing ice sculptures


Mom Anderson preparing Christmas goodies for all ...

.. and to all a good night...

A New Year and a New Bowl of Oatmeal

The sun is rising on Januarly 2nd here, and I sit in my kitchen eating a bowl imported Russian oatmeal. I usually eat imported German oatmeal. However, the Russian stuff is chunkier. I am enjoying a cup of American Imported Starbucks. That's quite nice. It's a new year and time to do new things. I would like to say that I have reslved to "Blog more" this year - but I don't want to commit myself. Maybe I should resolve to drink more coffee? Too easy...

The New Year was celebrated in Ulaanbaatar with quite a fury of activity. The square (Suhkbaatar Square at the City Center) was fully decorated with lights and concert stages and food booths. There were fireworks at midnight (and all night long, really. Our dog was freaking out), as well as endless repetition of "The Happy New Year Song" by ABBA. (note: neither of us had heard of this song prior to moving to Mongolia. It is officially the most overplayed song in the country during the month of December.) We didn't join the festivities at the square, but we did have an enjoyable New Year's Eve with some new friends from several different organizations working in the city. We played games and ate pizza. We also spent a large chunk of New Year's Day with team members. We had a prolonged breakfast, good conversation and sweet time of prayer. All in all, a good day.

This morning, I am breaking open my new ESV Journaling Bible, with a freshly printed Discipleship Journal Yearly Bible Reading Guide. In perusing other blog's, I came across a link to this site: 10 questions for the New Year. I am finding this a really healthy excercise. There are actually 31 questions (if you read the entire page). I am taking one question per day and meditating on the possible answers, then logging in my journal the outcome of my thinking. The first question on the list is a pivotal one, I believe: What's one thing I can do this year to increase my enjoyment of God?

This morning I read Psalm 1. I think it's a key to the answer.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
(Psalms 1:1-2 ESV)

I think a key to delight is meditation; to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. 2007 will be a full year of learning Mongolian for us. However, it is my desire to enjoy God more in the process. A key, as I understand it, is allowing God's word to so permeate the mind and the heart that there is genuine and utter delight in it. Other delights taste less sweet. God becomes all. My goal for this year is to delight in the Law of the Lord. It is perfect. It satisifes the soul. It is definitely better than Russian oatmeal.

Incarnation, Tradition and "Skype"

The Christmas season that is upon our family is definitely a different one for us. Renee' and I have been married for 17 and a half years now, and while our tradition has not really been set in stone in any sense, we do tend to do the same general things each year. My years as a pastor in Franklin meant that our activities at Christmas time were somewhat determined by the church's Christmas schedule. So some years Christmas Eve was spent at Renee's parents, some years it was spent at home with our church family. A few times we had family with us over the holiday. While there was some variety over the years, we still generally spent the season with people that we love. We were always intentional to make Christmas about Jesus - a difficult thing to do when the Advent adverts begin sometime shortly after the fourth of July. Fantastic memories and helpful family tradition has developed over the years. Christmas has always been about being with the people we love and Jesus. I've been pleased with the results.

This year everything changes. The people that we have always spent the holiday season with are now a bit further than an afternoon's drive away. People who have spent their lives working in an overseas context know this experience well but it is a very new experience for us. Frankly, we have been feeling the strain of distance from friends and family since thanksgiving. Cori had a birthday the other day, and while her grandparents were able to watch her open some Birthday presents over Skype - it doesn't seem quite the same. It isn't quite the same.

This year Christmas can not be about being with the people we love and Jesus. This year, it's just about Jesus because the people we love are thousands of miles away.

It is a little bit ironic that "gathering with family" has become such a significant piece of the Christmas holiday come to think about it. Jesus left his family to come to earth. I am a firm believer that the incarnation is all about missions and, conversely, missions is all about incarnation. The message of grace could only be known and received when Christ left heaven and all that was beautiful there. He became one of us. He had to be born in rather unseemly and difficult circumstances. He lived with us. God lived in human flesh and ate human food and breathed human air. He died as one us. It's a bit overwhelming to think about, really.

We are going to miss our family and friends this year. We already do. We know that Christmas is not about Santa Claus (I wrote about that last year). However, this Christmas we are finding that it's not even about gathering with family and friends, as beautiful and Christ exalting as that can be.

It's all about incarnation. It's His cross-cultural grace proclamation and his continued presence with us - Emanuel.

I am going to close this rambling blog with two thoughts.

One: We really do miss all of you and will be praying for you - that you will know the presence of the One who was born to die this season of incarnation. We wish we could there (or even better - that you could be here!)

Two: The words of Nate Saint express what I'm wanting to say here better than I know how to put into words

"As we have a high old time this Christmas, may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever having a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of the darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlehem, may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha. May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the lost - and our responsibility."

Merry Christmas to all of you …

A Different Thanksgiving

No football. No Turkey. But it was fun and memorable, all the same. We had Thanksgiving supper with Narah and Boldoo. We all enjoyed whole roasted Chicken, dressing, mashed potatoes, canned cranberries, and a "real" Pumkin pie. I even picked up a special treat for our dog Sadie at the market this afternoon. Can you find it in this picture?



Here is Sadie enjoying here treat:



Narah and Cori gave Jonathan a hard time by singing "Frosty the Snow Man" in his ears. You can tell he really loves it.



Narah and Sadie are now quite good friends. It's fun to listen to Narah fuss at and scold Sadie in Mongolian. Sadie just loves her. Narah helped Renee' to prepare the meal and even helped clean up the kitchen. Sadie did not help so much.




Renee' made a pretty good list of the things we are truly grateful for in her Blog below. I just wanted to add a few more things - some quite similar, some a little different, all can be found in our newsletter. We are so glad to know where every gift comes from.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
(James 1:17 ESV)

-The boxes we have received (right now we only need three more and they’ll all be here!)
-Youth Group for MK’s in UB
-A nice place to live
-Technology that enables us to stay in touch with friends and family (Skype)
-Our puppy Sadie (when she stays out of the trash and doesn’t bite while we’re tying our shoes)
-New friends and colleagues
-Guitar lessons (for Jonathan)
-New beginnings
-Chocolate
-Our new Mongolian friends, Baldoo and Narah
-A new coffee house 100 meters from our home
-Weekends and other breaks from school
-A relationship with God based on the blood and cross of Christ and not on how well one is doing in language study
-The fact that we can be together as a family
-The climate (cold weather with low humidity)
-God’s gracious years of preparation
-Friends at home who are faithful prayer partners

Thank you all for partnering with us!