| 작성자 |
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첨부파일 |
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| 자료구분 |
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작성일 |
2006-07-21 |
| 제목 |
Round Table Talk Ⅱ: Issues That Frontier Mission Field Workers Are Facing |
| 주제어키워드 |
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국가 |
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| 자료출처 |
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성경본문 |
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| 조회수 |
4944 |
추천수 |
9 |
G-KoM.Net +
Attendees :
John Kim (Insiders, Field Worker, 12 years:
Coordinator for this round table talk)
Rev. Sung Yong Kim (Publisher of KJFM )
Deborah Meung (Insiders, Field Worker, 12 years)
Susan Chae (Comemission, Field Worker, 5 years)
Banaba Kim (Hap-Shin, Field Worker, 3 years)
Joy (Field Worker, 2 1/2 years)
Chung-Mo Park (ESF, Language/Culture Learning)
Joseph Lee (Insiders, Pre-field Preparation)
Stephen Jung (Insiders, General Secretary)
Dorga (GP, Field Worker, 9 years)
Sarah (Insiders, Field Worker, 3 Years)
Zainal (YWAM, Field Worker, 5 years)
Jung-Wook Park (Insiders, Candidate
Barnabas Bae (Insiders, Field Worker, 5 years)
Ki-Hong Kim (A Prayer Supporter from Korea)
Susan Chae : As a matter of fact, there are so many issues we are facing. There may exist a tension between a worker's identity and his or her missionary task while engaged in a business or any professional work through NGO in a CAN area where the missionary identity cannot be exposed openly. There must be issues of time management, making official report when NGO is the platform, and time and energy consuming effort such as medical treatment, etc. If too much energy and time are employed while there is not any apparent advance in the major job (the Gospel Evangelization), it can even cause spiritual burn-out. In the midst of spiritual warfare, this situation can be even worse. Thus, keeping a good spirituality through self-control is very important. If not, it can affect a worker's survival on the field. It is true to say that the national workers are facing same kind of difficulties. Another difficulty is related to the lack of dynamicity in faith life. It is difficult to find a way like dynamic participation into a worship by which spiritual energy can be supplemented. If the worker's background is Charismatic, then the tendency is rather severe.
Deborah Meung :
While I have been involved in a business platform for frontier mission, I found it very difficult to build up genuine ministry relationship with national workers. An imbalance between business and ministry foci seems to be unavoidable in some sense. There is the issue of integrity in running business that can easily become an obstacle to ministry advance. As we know, a business platform requires genuine skill to run the business. Now we field workers need to learn practical issues of business. But, partnering among team members are necessary for the sake of time saving, whether they are nationals or internationals.
Susan Chae: Depending on the area, sometimes it is very difficult to find field colleagues or team members. Especially in the CAN area, since we cannot find the colleagues easily, our own effort to find the colleagues from outside may make us exhausted.
Banaba Kim: Now I want to share some issues I face. I feel this as a simple but one of the most important issues. Even though I have learned about contextualization, it was not easy for me to initiate a gathering amongst local Muslims. As I couldn't give them any realistic training opportunity, I encouraged some lady MBBs (Muslim Background Believers) to attend the other ladies' gathering led by a Westerner. I wondered if it was good to send those MBBs to other's opportunities or to set up a follow-up training program first to help the new MBBs growth. Even though the ladies I sent to the other places seemed to be greatly encouraged by knowing that there were other MBBs like themselves, there was some negative aspect as well. For Westerners, way of dealing with money issue seems to be different from Asians like me. It seems that many national new MBBs can get help from the Western workers when they appeal their deficiency. But, we Asians have different view in dealing with the material issue, thus different way of dealing with the material issue can affect the teamwork. Now I have about 10 MBBs in my gathering. I wonder if now I need to encourage them to be divided into two groups. And also I don't know when to start the leadership training. As a matter of fact, in their testimonies, many cases are related to how God helped them to resolve the issue of material when they faced difficulty. It seems to be natural that they often share that kind of testimony as they are normally from poor background. Because of this tendency, if they are sent to attend another gathering, they often hear that kind of testimony affecting the teamwork negatively. Another issue can take place when a national worker who was once working in a different team comes and expresses his willingness to join my team. I wonder if I accept him to be my team member. Do we have any guideline or principle regarding this issue? In this sense, I think it very important for the field workers to share the same ministry spirit and to form a network among the workers.
Deborah Meung: In fact, this matter is related to relationship issue not only between expatriate and national workers but also between the expatriate workers themselves. Sometimes that issue can be escalated to become something like ethical problem as a worker.
Joy: Is there any way to have its own ministry focus through business or school-management platform? I think we need to try to make the ministry platform to be the ministry place itself as it can somehow provide contact point. I mean there must be some maximized point between the two roles providing the worker's identity and ministry contact points. It could be strategic as well to know the timing of the most effective Gospel sharing. Somebody says that we need to put three years at least so that we can know a new MBB's faith in Jesus whether it is genuine or not. However, I don't think it Biblical perception. As long as we keep up the good relationship with Muslims, decisive time can come to share the Gospel when their definite need is met by our direct help. It must be the most effective chance in sharing the Good News according to my personal experience.
Susan Chae: That sort of issue is the same as NGO's case. Most of the people who come to contact with NGO are in needy condition. But, the problem lies on their attitude that they tend to go back without further follow-up immediately after their needs are met. However even in this case, my experience appeals that contact point of the Gospel sharing can appear when we approach to the issues with fervent prayer. And then, the next issue takes place in the area of follow-up. When a religious issue is dealt with, the new Muslim seeker often put himself back. But, we don't need to be frustrated. Even though it goes in slow pace in term of spiritual knowledge encounter, we can keep going on with the new seeker when keeping a good relationship. In fact, the growing speed is usually much slower in the case of one who comes due to one's practical need rather than a spritual thirsty seeking for the truth. Therefore, my prayer is to find a true seeker who can play role as a peace maker in his area. However it is true to say at the same time that we can be easily exhausted when we only try to find the peace maker in a new area. Thus, we need to keep on paying attention even to those coming to us due to their practical needs.
Deborah Meung: While living among Muslims, I could learn that they normally accept their living condition as something predestined, but at the same time they dream of a moment of dramatic change of their life condition as a part of the predestination. From this point of view in understanding their world view, we need to know their daily live patterns as deep as possible in the sense that they can face the decisive moment of changing their lives by encountering the truth in the Gospel.
Joy: Indeed many times I have experienced to see them open their hearts to accept the Gospel message when they got help at certain crisis in their lives.
Zainal: We need to have a discerning spirit in that sense. There are many cases asking certain aids, but we need to know if it is a necessary moment of giving aids. Even for the sake of the Gospel sharing, timing is very important. If one can get help whenever he feels its need, he may tend to think an intentional way of getting the aid and in that case the giving itself may not be meaningful. In fact, conveying our heart is much more important than satisfying him by giving. But, anyway if we only try to find some contact points for the Gospel sharing by giving, it may not be so Biblical.
Joy: Is there anybody who can share more about ministry and business?
Zainal: In the beginning, I had a sense of compulsion for the success of the business. However, now such mind has been changed. I decided to run a business from the beginning so that it could give more contact points. Now I often sense a conflict between the business running and the spiritual management and ministry concentration. Anyway I think it natural that this step needs to be passed through. I think, the deeper the involvement in the business is, the profounder the understanding on the nature of this word is. Thus, we may be able to get into the deeper level of this worldly live realm with better understanding. But, there should be danger when we only depend on our own ideas. We should trust on God who is working behind us. When we run a business with national colleagues, their lack of passion and fear are often observed. For an example, when a national worker is living in a remote area by running a business for ministry, complex problem can arise in the areas of his life such as loneliness, spiritual down, and a tension for the business success and supporting issue. If the worker is not well prepared in terms of his spirituality, he can often try to seek for his own way of survival. One thing important with national workers is the level of relationship. I feel that too many national workers tend to say their difficulties only and the areas for aid. According to my thought, in order to resolve this kind of issue, our attitude on how to keep incarnational relationship with them is very important. I mean that we should go down to their working and living level rather than calling them out of their boundaries to talk with us in our contexts.
Chung-Mo Park: Now I would share the issues that I face when I prepare myself for the frontier mission. Firstly, I feel we are in the lack of information on the frontier missions. It may be the reason on why people feel confused in understanding the frontier mission. Secondly, as a continuation of the first point, I wonder how much realistic product we have in relation with the frontier mission. We definitely need more books, materials, and journals, etc. Security issue is always there on one hand, but at the same time promotion is very important on the other hand. Many cases including practical experiences need to be provided. Thirdly, theologizing and Biblical establishment should be made by using those cases as resources. Thus, network with those experts in theology and missiology areas is necessary. In order to attract their interest, we need to have much more practical field products. One idea is to compile many case studies in a booklet.
Deborah Meung: Why don't we ask him to be the coordinator to compile the care-study booklet?
All Attendees: (Agreed unanimously with a big clap)
Sarah: The most serious struggle that I had in the beginning period of my field life was related to the identity issue. I came out to the field after finishing my undergraduate course and some missionary training. Since I started to live in an M-context, they have not ceased asking me of the reason on why I came. We need to have clear answer on that kind of inquiry asking of our identity. I thought I had been well prepared as I had a long term plan with which I could naturally talk about my identity. However, as we often experience, our prescribed plans are not really working and we cannot but change our original plans. When the plan was once changed, I was confused by myself in that what kind of answer I needed to give them. Another issue we often face is also related to identity, but the religious one. I wonder when we can expose our identity as the followers of Isa while we are struggled with our apparent identity because of the inner calling we have as true believers.
Zainal: In fact, this issue is one that we all struggle with. Thus, we need to form an active network through which we can collect the information and share that kind of common issues to seek for Biblical answers. I think we had better have long term identities. And we should understand what a religion means to the vernacular people. Are they really dealing with the matter of life when they talk about a religion? But, I think in many cases they are not. When we are accepted as a part of their daily routine, we can feel free even from a sort of apparent constraint we have in terms of contextualization. True relationship can go beyond the religious boundary. When we are talking about Isa Almasih, it is not inviting them to be proselytes assimilating themselves like us in following a new religion. Rather, the only focus should lie on Jesus (Isa Almasih). Then we may freely share the truth in Isa with Muslims.
Chung-Mo Park: I have struggled with same sort of issue too. I am considering of starting a business, but recently I have changed my mind on how to answer about the identity issue. I believe that we need to prepare for our long term identity that looks natural and is persuasive even to ourselves.
Barnabas Bae: I have been working in a Muslim context over the last 4 years. The issue I face is related to that of security. I have been quite sensitive to the security issue, but I realized that there should be some leak areas in keeping security. One day I started to feel that the people living around me cast their suspicious look to me. And thus, a question that I want to ask here is how long period is desirable in an M-context for a long term frontier work. I am questioning this as I think there should always be limitation in keeping the security and thus should be a time constraint. The leaking pace of security can become getting worse. As for me, there was a strange phone-call from a policeman and the owner of my rental house asked me an abrupt intensive interview with many inquiries for half an hour. After that experience, I don't allow any national colleague's direct visitation to my home. When we are engaged in frontier mission situation as outsiders and the security leak is unavoidable in a sense, how long period of time will be the most desirable one for a frontier worker's effective ministry in a given frontier context? It could be an issue. Is it natural for a frontier worker to be ready to move to different area after experiencing a ministry period in a frontier mission context? Sometimes this question seems to be directly related to the identity once again. Interaction between those who are working in different style of contextualization may cause some problem in security as well.
Sarah: Frankly speaking, I am not so confident yet as to go ahead in C-5 ministry.1 Even though I understand my attitude as a learner in a given M-context, often I feel burden as one who has truth and hence has to share it with the lost people. That's my desire but, I feel burden also when they look at me with suspicious attitude when I show reluctant reaction to their invitation in doing Sholat together.
Dorga: I have been involved in so called traditional ministry over the last 9 years. But, now I began to think about frontier work. As a matter of fact, the issues we are dealing now are those that I have as well. As for me the religious identity of a long term worker seems to be the most difficult one within an M-context. Unless the worker has clear identity, he or she will be facing hardship in the end because of that. As far as the principle of incarnation was concerned profoundly, I thought I could probably go with C-5. However, from practical point of view, the issue that Sarah suggested seems to be more realistic to me. It seems to me that we could go beyond our realistic boundary according to the incarnational principle in contextualization, but since we are accustomed only to follow black and white way of thinking about an issue, when we are asked about our identities we feel burden as we only try to find the answer based on the reason. I had to spend much time in thinking on why I needed to become like them as I have been living in this country for such a long time already. I really need more practical case studies.
Zainal: I believe that we can get into them with genuine truth when we are willing to hear from them when they want to talk about what they regard as their truth. When they feel comfortable with our presence among them, we can get much opportunity to share the Good News with them.
Barnabas Bae: Reflecting on my own experience, this kind of issue may vary depending on the area and the openness of the people. For an example, once I was trying to find a rental housing in an M-context and found a suitable one. But, the owner told me that the house could not be rented by Christians or Buddhists. I introduced myself as a non-Christian. As a matter of fact, what they feel fear with those non-Muslims is the fact that they are eating pork, which defiles the house owned by a Muslim. At that time we introduced ourselves as the followers of Isa not eating any pork or so called 'haram' and then the house was allowed to be rented. In this sense, we need to let them have clear understanding on our identity as those who are not typical Christian whom they think 'infidels'.2 In that way, we could get into a deeper frontier level. There is another case here. There was a short term worker who was in a bonding experience at a Muslim home at that time. One day, without her recognition, a rumor was spread around in the area where she was living in such a way that she went through a proselyte to be a Muslim. They said that she had followed the memorizing verses of Islamic faith confession 'Shahadah' twice before them when they had asked her to follow. That's why they regarded her to be a Muslim. It was actually very tricky. Anyway, as it became real issue in the village, I had to meet the villagers and explain what she followed memorizing the Islamic confession was meaningless as it was nothing but a mimicking. After my long explanation, they accepted what she memorized as one that didn't really make her to be a Muslim. There could be so many different cases and issues in contextualization. But as every context is different, we cannot deal with all the cases one by one. It must be unreasonable. Thus what we should bear in mind is the principle.
Barnaba Kim: When I try to tackle with this kind of issue, I like to look back and reflect the life of our Lord, Jesus. When Jesus introduced His identity, He seemed to think about the timing very importantly. While Jesus introduced Himself as the Son of Man for such a long time without exposing Him as the Son of God, it seems to me that there should be a suitable timing that we can introduce ourselves in a clear way. Thus, we need to be ready to move thoroughly according to God's timing.
Sung Yong Kim: Thank you for sharing many useful issues. Now it seems to be the time for rapping up. This was a good time to know the issues and difficulties that the M-workers on frontier mission areas are facing as something real. As this ministry is discerned from the traditional ones in seminaries or within churches, good communication with home churches and supporting/prayer partners in home country could become an important issue that the frontier workers need to be aware of. Ministry platform on a frontier field is also very important as it must be directly related to the issue of a worker's local identity. It seems to be hard to find one solution or another. For those who are working on frontier fields, business and NGO ministries seem to be important issues. And sustaining good spirituality and opportunities for spiritual refreshment have same importance as well. Besides these issues, it must be very important to share the information and materials through field worker's network. And thus there should be as many case studies as possible to be shared. I hope that through this round table talk the prayer partners and supporters in home-side can recognize the difficulties and needs that the frontier workers have on their fields in better way so that prayer movement can arise to bring those prayer requests before God in fervent way. |
 
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