Outlined Transcript:
Hi folks,
I just wanted to give you a short video based on one of my little lectures at the Bible conference we just had. I know I’ve shot a few other videos for you, but I wanted to give you a little more feedback.
It went so well, better than I expected. I really didn’t know what to expect.
The Need for Simple, Clear Bible Teaching
These people are not strong readers. I would say most of them didn’t even come with their Lahu Bibles because they don’t understand them well. Even my interpreter didn’t bring his Lahu Bible.
He speaks very good English and has studied. He did his MDiv in London many years ago, so he is basically fluent. But he told me he doesn’t even travel with his Lahu Bible because it is not a great translation. He was looking for a Bible left over in the church that he could use while interpreting.
All that to say, these people are not strong readers. They are farmers. They are out in the fields most days and most weekends. When they come home, it is dark. They are trying to save power. Many of them are sitting around by firelight. They squat on the ground and cook around a little campfire inside their house.
They could sit at home and read during the day, but they are out working all day long.
So those audio Bibles, the little devices I talked about a few months ago, were a big hit. We have already given them all away, and we are going to need more. I don’t know the exact number yet. I know I mentioned that in a previous video, and I will keep you posted on it.
Teaching Through “Sticky Concepts”
For this video, I just wanted to briefly share how I taught and what they found so helpful.
My interpreter said I was by far the easiest person he has ever had to interpret for. That is probably because I have been doing this for over 20 years, speaking through interpreters. I teach English, and I have two degrees in TESOL, so I know how to make sentences short for non-native English speakers and for people in other languages.
I have also studied several languages, so I have learned to think in short, punctuated sentences.
One thing I do that they found really helpful, and that my interpreter found helpful as well, is that I don’t tell long stories.
I don’t find that the “storying” approach is actually that helpful for most cultures. There is a large ministry movement toward telling stories to communicate the Bible message, and I think the sentiment and desire behind that is noble. But when you actually get to know the target audience of those methods, many of them do not sit around telling elaborate stories.
Maybe they tell short, 30-second anecdotes about something, but they do not tell long, theatrical stories that require sustained attention to a plot. They do not generally think that way.
They actually think more in terms of metaphors, analogies, and short anecdotes.
So I use a lot of little life metaphors, what I call “sticky concepts.” These are concepts that attach to the concrete world and to common human experiences, things most people have experienced or can easily understand.
For example, the panic you feel when a baby cries at night and just keeps crying. Or seeing the loveliness of a sunset. Or the anticipation of a sunrise. Or, if you are from the north, the hope that comes when the snow melts in the springtime.
Those are sticky concepts. They are experiences that most people are aware of, or at least can easily conceptualize even if they have not experienced them personally.
The Centrality of the Local Church
My last group of lectures was on the centrality of church life for the Christian. I was teaching that church life is non-negotiable. A Christian who is not regularly part of a local congregation is, in a sense, a paradox. It is almost a contradiction in terms.
A true Christian is part of a church. You cannot be a maverick, lone-wolf Christian.
One metaphor I used that was helpful for them was the idea that being part of a local church is not simply a matter of attendance. It is not like going to school and trying not to be late or trying not to get too many demerits for missing too many days.
I tried to encourage them that church is not like that.
It is much more like a family.
It is the place where you belong. It is where you feel at home. It is the people you want to be with.
The Church as a Family
And with any family, there are always a few people who are a little unusual. We all have oddities in our personalities. In a family gathering, there are always going to be a few people who rub someone the wrong way or who do not naturally connect.
In our remote-working society, we often think of friends and connections in terms of interest groups or affinity groups. We spend time with people who are into soccer, basketball, pizza, certain movies, or whatever else we enjoy.
But that is not how family works.
Family members often have very different interests, sometimes even bizarre interests. We are all distinct. But we still have one thing in common: we belong together.
We are a unit. We are related. There is nothing we can do about that.
The idea of the church is similar. The local church is a congregation of the righteous, a local assembly of people who belong to one another because they belong to Christ.
Ultimately, we belong to Christ. And because we are in Christ, we are united to one another.
We are not united because we have the same interests. We are not united because we all love the same cultural preferences or activities. We are united in Christ. He is the point of our unity.
It is that simple: we belong together because we belong to Christ.
There is an identity to that local, particular people gathered together in that assembly.
A Bowl of Rice with Family
One of the analogies I used was from my own life. They all know I am a missionary. They know I am a professor. I think some of them understand that I raise support as part of my income. All of you are aware of that as well.
When I am raising support, very kind-hearted pastors or supporters will sometimes take me to a really nice restaurant. They will say, “You are back in the States,” or, “You are only visiting for a short time. What kind of food do you miss?”
And often, to be honest, I just miss steak.
That is one thing we cannot get here very easily or cheaply. I miss good red meat, a good American steak. I can get pizza here. I can even get good burgers here. But steak is one thing I really enjoy when I am back in the United States.
But here is the thing.
As much as I enjoy a really good American steak at a nice restaurant, and as nice and clean and enjoyable as that is, I would still rather be with my family with just a bowl of rice, a cup of water, and a banana, even when the electricity is not working.
Because when I am on the road meeting with people, as much as I love the food and the fellowship, I belong to my family.
That is where I belong.
Even if we are living in near-poverty conditions, I would not trade that for a thousand nice meals. I feel like a king when I am with my family, because that is my place of belonging.
That is what the local church is like.
Belonging Together in Christ
You can shop around at various churches. You can go to conferences. These people are not really doing that, of course. They are farmers. They do not travel much. Going to town once a month to pay a bill or take care of something necessary is a big trip for many of them.
But they can still understand the idea of having mobility, of being able to get around and do many different things.
And there is a rootedness to family that keeps bringing people back. It is one of the longings of the soul. We all want a place to belong.
That is what church is.
Church is belonging together in Christ.
I went through many of the “one another” verses in the New Testament, and that was one of the teaching points they found especially helpful.
That is just one example of the kind of point and anecdote I used, what I call a sticky concept.
Looking Ahead
As the months go on, I will be doing this again. They really want to have another conference next year. They only have a certain window of time in the farming season when they can actually take a weekend off to do something like this.
But I think there were about 100 people who showed up. People came from other villages as well. Next time, we may have to do it outside because we do not have a big enough place. They have a way to put up a large net or tent, and my guess is that there may be double the number of people next time.
People are starving for simple Bible teaching that makes sense.
They are somewhat like the God-fearers in the New Testament book of Acts. They have a sense that Christianity is real, right, true, and good. They just do not have all the pieces put together yet.
They are kind of like the Ethiopian eunuch.
My aim and desire is to make plain the good, true, and beautiful things of God’s Word, and to make clear and explicit the simplicity and freeness of the grace of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for praying for us.
God bless you.