The Nelson Family Indonesia

I have learned and maintained over years of experience in a variety of vocational fields that meetings are a necessary evil. At best they accomplish some imperfect good. At worst they are a perfect waste of time.

I like to think this attitude is not evil in itself, though I’m sure there are folks who would say it is. They might be right. Whether it’s the wiring of my brain (as my wife maintains) or a combination of other deficiencies or blessings, I stand by my assessment. I hope it sets appropriate expectations for me, thus minimizing disappointment. And I hope it also makes me keener to be of use, to ensure that whatever good can be grasped, is. And I’ve learned to trust that my experiences and perspectives are of value to the body of Christ in general, even around a meeting table.

So it wasn’t without some reluctance that I arrived in Singapore for a week of meetings. I remember one of my first visits to Singapore, nearly three years ago. And it coincided with a regional leadership meeting. I remember being a bit in awe of those folks gathered to discuss and plan regional work and strategy. I barely knew most of them, and they possessed amongst themselves literally decades of experience on the field while I was still embarrassingly wet behind the ears.

Now three years later the membership of that leadership team has shifted substantially, and I’m now part of it. Presuming there are good reasons for this, I came to make sure I contributed whatever I could.

Leadership in the LCMS Office of International Mission, Asia Region has multiple layers. Heading up the office of OIM is Rev. Dr. Corey Rajek, who has been in that position about a year after previously heading up the Eurasia Region. Below him, directly overseeing all of the Regional Directors is Rev. Dr. Brian Gauthier, who assumed this position late last summer/early fall. Then the Asia Regional Director is Rev. Charles Ferry, who has served in that position for over seven years now. Alongside Rev. Ferry is the Regional Business Manager Sam Borgwardt. These two comprise the Executive Leadership team for the Asia Region.

The Regional Leadership team that reports to the Executive Leadership team has several components. There are three Area Facilitators – Rev. Steven Mahlburg, Rev. Matthew Wood, and myself. Each of us is responsible for directing activity in 6-8 different countries in Asia, and being the immediate supervisor of any deployed staff we have in those countries. We assist in budgeting and planning OIM activities in each of the countries we oversee. Oversight does not imply control – oftentimes we have partner churches in these countries, and the Area Facilitators are the primary point of contact and communication between OIM and these partner organizations. The partner churches are in charge of their ministries (obviously!) and the Area Facilitators act as resources, coordinating a variety of resources as requested.

Aimee Cima serves as the Regional Care Coordinator, coordinating the process of workers coming to or departing from the region and ensuring that deployed staff are aware of the benefits they are entitled to through their employment, as well as contacting deployed staff throughout the year to see how things are going and to ascertain if there are needs she could be of assistance with.

This core group interfaces between deployed staff throughout the region and the regional Executive Leadership team.

For this week of meetings in Singapore, Rev. Gauthier was present to provide input and feedback from OIM leadership in St. Louis. All the AFs were in attendance as well as the Care Coordinator. Also joining us was Rev. Dr. Tom Park, who oversees the newly established seminary in Chiayi, Taiwan that is a combined effort of the LCMS and the China Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC).

Topics for our time included presentations from Rev. Gauthier about OIM overall strategy and efforts across all the Regions, as well as discussion about key opportunities for developing work in Asia specifically. Key to this is the rollout of FOROs, a new way of assembling and organizing various LCMS-related organizations and services for the benefit of work in a particular country and/or with a particular partner church body. The goal is that FOROs will eventually be ongoing in all the countries OIM is involved with globally. In Asia the first FOROs will likely occur in Japan and Philippines within the next year to 16 months.

God willing. That’s what is always in the back of my mind during meetings. We make our plans. That’s part of our vocation as God’s creations, part of the directive Adam and Eve received before the Fall. That vocation hasn’t changed but it has been complicated by sin. And so our plans aren’t perfect. Our vision is limited. We do the best we can knowing that things change and we might need to adjust expectations, techniques, etc. The Gospel message never should be compromised, but how we help share that message throughout creation is subject to many variables and adjustments along the way.

Ultimately, this week of meetings was absolutely necessary. Good things came out of it. Good plans, good hopes, good goals. None of that changes my feelings about meetings. But it reminds me to try and keep my personal feelings in check in order to be helpful for the larger good. I figure that’s a lesson we all need to be reminded of on a regular basis!

Please pray for the Asia region that we would continue to be diligent in sharing the Gospel, planting Lutheran churches, and showing mercy to the people we have been called into relationship with!