Saturday evening we flew from Okinawa to Tokyo. Sunday we met the Jastrams for worship in Shinjuku, a suburb slightly west of downtown Tokyo. We experienced a traditional Lutheran worship in Japanese. The small congregation was very warm and welcoming. The building where a congregation of the Japanese Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) meets. A fairly… Continue reading Tokyo
Category: Theology
Ministry of Presence
Many Christians I talk to worry about their faith. The primary worry they express is feeling ill-equipped to minister to others. They are firm in their faith but worried somehow the Holy Spirit has neglected to give them what they need to minister to others. They oftentimes discount or ignore or are unaware of the… Continue reading Ministry of Presence
Teaching in Sri Lanka
This week I had the opportunity to meet again with the five evangelists of the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Last month I led them through a discussion on Luther’s Large & Small Catechisms. This week I led them through a discussion on the Augsburg Confession (AC). As before, they were… Continue reading Teaching in Sri Lanka
Baguio City
We had the opportunity to celebrate Matins with the seminary community this morning, and afterwards sit in on several of their classes. The professors are knowledgeable and the students are eager to learn. One student has traveled all the way from Mongolia to study here. Another student is from North Sumatra, Indonesia! I had the… Continue reading Baguio City
Arriving in Manila
I’m in the Philippines this week, connecting with Deaconess Sandra Rhein and SE Asia Regional Director Rev. Charles Ferry to meet with the leadership of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP). Deaconess Rhein and I arrived Sunday evening and were graciously met at the airport by our driver – President Rev. Antonio Reyes! He… Continue reading Arriving in Manila
Building Relationships
Today I was blessed to meet with Bishop Lu Guan Ho of the Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS). I had the pleasure of meeting with him late last year as well, and it was nice to build on those initial introductions to one another. We were also joined by his assistant, Martin Yi. While the… Continue reading Building Relationships
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore…
Is it harder to talk with people about Jesus if those people don’t believe in any God, or a different god? I won’t try to answer that question, I’ll simply note there is a difference. The above photo is an item found in the seatback pocket on my flight today to Singapore. Lion air Group… Continue reading We’re Not in Kansas Anymore…
The Small Catechism
I was commenting to a colleague of mine this week that the more I teach Luther’s Small Catechism the more I appreciate it. The simplicity in presentation of concepts and truths that have occupied theologians for thousands of years is remarkable. If you haven’t looked through your catechism in a while I strongly recommend it.… Continue reading The Small Catechism
One Year-ish
We celebrated our one-year anniversary in Medan today. If you go by days of the week it works out because we arrived in Medan on a Sunday evening. But if you go by dates, like any civilized human being, then tomorrow, February 13, is our one-year anniversary. We’ll celebrate a little bit tomorrow as well… Continue reading One Year-ish
The Sun Is the Same, In a Relative Way…
…but we are older. This was us one year ago today – younger, tired after being up until 2am and then having to get up VERY early. Freshly dropped off at Sky Harbor International Airport (I defy anyone to name a more beautiful airport name) in Phoenix to begin our long-awaited departure towards a new… Continue reading The Sun Is the Same, In a Relative Way…
