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Spot the Friendly Tukay Lizard |
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Tuesday, 20 July 2010 20:52 |
 When I first arrived in Thailand several years ago, a number of people warned me about a certain dangerous lizard. The tukay (or “tokay”) lizard, they told me, has a lock-jaw so if it bites you it is unable to let go, and you will need to have it surgically removed. For quite some time, I never saw this creature and began to wonder if the tukay was just a big joke to scary new missionaries. These were the days before you could just “google it” so I lived in uncertainty about the tukay for quite some time.
But then I caught a glimpse of one in the shadows behind a refrigerator and became a believer. Not long there after, I was surprised by one scurrying over the doorframe of a darkened bathroom as I walked into it. Concerned that it was a dangerous creature, I recruited a friend (another new missionary) to help me get rid of it. With a large Super Soaker water gun, we blasted it off the wall, across the tile floor, out the backdoor, and off the balcony. The tukay plummeted four stories and landed with a thud on the corrugated tin roof of the kitchen unit on the ground floor.
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Wardogs and the Need for Native Thai Preachers |
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010 20:00 |
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 For the past two weeks, we had a short-term team with us from America and I have had both the pleasure of working with them, and also the responsibility of translating for them most of the time. Though my Thai ability is not superb, it is usually sufficient to get the job done. However, I know that pronunciation is not my strong suit and part way through this past Sunday’s sermon, I was hoping against hope that I was getting a certain word right. I wasn’t.
As my friend Luke preached in English, I did the best that I could to translate what he said into Thai. All was well until he took us to Zechariah 10:3, “My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD Almighty will care for his flock, the house of Judah, and make them proud like a horse in battle.” From that point on in the sermon, Luke used the word “warhorse” quite frequently.
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When "Living the Gospel" Isn't Enough |
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Tuesday, 06 July 2010 20:00 |
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 St. Francis of Assisi is often quoted as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary use, words.” Regardless of whether he actually said this or not, I understand the sentiment of some who quote him. Namely, the Christian faith needs to be lived out, not only talked about. However, taken as it stands, this quote also seems to provide a convenient loophole clause for those who don’t want to talk about Christ, lest they cause offense or invite criticism. The implication of the quote seems to be that it is possible to preach the Gospel WITHOUT using words. This is simply not the case - neither in the “Christian” West nor in Buddhist Thailand where I live.
Thai Buddhists often view other religions and religious people as they view themselves and often assume things about Christians and Christianity that are not true. Here are two brief examples:
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Because the need for people to hear the Gospel on the mission field is so urgent, it is sometimes claimed that doing a lot of Biblical studies or earning a degree in Bible is not necessary to be a long-term missionary. “People just need the basic Gospel, and you don’t need a degree for that”, it has been said. There is a lot of truth to that statement. However, once someone becomes a Christian, you need to disciple them. And you’ll need to help new believers form themselves into a church community. And to do that, a missionary is going to need to know a LOT more than just a basic Gospel outline.
