Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002605A
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00:06 Meeting needs in a refugee committee,
00:09 the story of a grandfather killed by Joseph Stalin, 00:12 and your 13th Sabbath Offerings making a difference 00:15 at a University in Madagascar. 00:17 All this and much more coming up next. 00:51 Hello, and welcome to Mission 360°. 00:53 I'm Gary Krause. 00:54 Today's program is coming to you 00:56 from the campus of Andrews University 00:58 in Michigan in the United States. 01:01 And behind me here 01:02 you can see a sculpture of J. N. Andrews, 01:05 after whom the university is named. 01:07 He's pictured here 01:09 with his children Charles and Mary. 01:11 Mary was 12 years of age, Charles 16. 01:14 And they're at Boston Harbor leaving as the first official 01:18 Seventh-day Adventist missionaries to go overseas. 01:22 Just two years earlier, the family had tragedy 01:25 when Evangeline, 01:27 John Andrews' wife had died of TB. 01:31 They went to Switzerland and four years later, 01:34 Mary succumbed to the same disease. 01:37 Heartbroken J.N. Andrews continued to serve, 01:40 but a few years later, 01:42 he himself died of tuberculosis. 01:45 Sacrifice for mission, 01:46 the first official missionaries to die in service. 01:50 He was a tremendously capable man. 01:52 He was the General Conference President. 01:53 He was a writer. 01:55 He was an academic, 01:56 and reportedly he could reproduce 01:59 the entire New Testament by memory. 02:01 What a wonderful example he is to us today. 02:04 On today's program, 02:06 we'll be looking at mission around the world. 02:08 But first up, let's travel to the state of Georgia 02:10 here in the United States, 02:12 to what is reputed to be the most diverse mile 02:16 in the country. 02:24 I came from Burma, now called Myanmar. 02:28 We knew that it was a dangerous journey 02:31 because the government don't want people 02:33 to leave the country. 02:35 In the border between Thailand and Myanmar, 02:37 we were caught by the soldiers 02:42 while we were crossing a river, 02:45 and they were holding guns and they told my mom 02:51 and the other adults on the boat 02:52 to get out of the boat and they were pointing guns. 02:56 The soldiers were saying 02:57 that their duty is to protect the border, 03:01 so they can't let anyone escape, 03:03 but then when they saw me, my brother, and my sister 03:07 we were the only kids out. 03:08 We were young, and we were small. 03:10 And when they saw us, 03:12 they let us go through pass by and they said 03:16 that if we can cross the river before anyone else sees them, 03:20 then they will let us go. 03:22 So I think God really answered our prayer. 03:34 So when I started to hear about the refugee stories, 03:37 and the trials and the tribulations 03:40 that these little kids went through, 03:41 and it really put a burden on my heart. 03:43 The first time I went to Clarkston 03:45 and I heard their stories 03:47 about trying to run in the jungle 03:48 and, you know, 03:50 escaping from different types of soldiers 03:52 that was trying to kill them 03:53 and the things that they witness 03:55 to their own family members 03:56 and how they saw their houses burned down 03:58 and how they just lived on their feet 04:02 and in the jungle and in the wild basically, 04:04 no houses or anything. 04:06 The burden on my heart was so great. 04:08 I couldn't sleep for like three nights 04:10 when I saw a lot of our kids that I went and I met 04:14 were sleeping on the floor 04:15 and there was rats and roaches 04:17 and they didn't have a lot of food in their pantry. 04:19 I felt like, you know, I'm only one person 04:21 but I just pray to God 04:23 and ask Him that He would open the doors 04:25 and as long as He opened them, I would walk through them. 04:28 You're like your daddy. 04:29 Daddy, he is like his daddy. 04:31 Yeah, he does. 04:33 Gosh, he got so big. 04:35 Doesn't he have any need more clothes? 04:38 Yeah. 04:39 Here in Clarkston, Georgia, 04:41 the diversity is amazing for our refugee population. 04:46 Time Magazine calls it the most diversified square mile 04:51 in the United States. 04:53 Here we have 60 different countries representative 04:58 and with 120 different languages spoken here. 05:03 Clarkston is an area that was a army base 05:06 during the Second World War. 05:09 After the war was over, 05:10 of course, there was no need for the facilities there. 05:14 But as the years went by, 05:17 the UN in conjunction with the US State Department 05:21 decided that it would be an ideal location 05:25 to relocate refugees from overseas 05:29 because there was cheap housing, 05:31 all be at rundown available 05:34 and there was also public transportation available. 05:41 So the living conditions here in Clarkston 05:45 are really, really hard for a lot of the families. 05:49 They come here and as you can see, 05:53 sometimes we forget that we're even 05:54 in the United States, in America 05:57 because there's trash everywhere in the community. 06:01 For example, here, there was a fire here, 06:03 and this has been over eight months ago 06:05 and the building's still here. 06:07 For me, like, I wouldn't want my little kid playing near that 06:10 because if it falls down, 06:11 obviously, someone's gonna get hurt. 06:13 But the refugee people, they're people, 06:16 they don't feel like they have a lot of entitlement. 06:19 When you're not born in a place, 06:22 then you're not gonna speak up, 06:23 and they tend to get taken advantage 06:25 of really, really easily. 06:26 So here you find 06:29 that the refugees tolerate a lot of stuff 06:31 because they're just thankful for being here. 06:34 He's a good great granddaddy at me. 06:38 This is where a lot of the gangs 06:40 and the drugs come into play 06:42 because if you got some abandoned buildings, 06:45 they'll come in and they'll sell drugs 06:46 out of that building. 06:48 And so we try to keep it clean 06:50 'cause a lot of our kids actually live, 06:52 you know, here and across the street, 06:54 and we don't want them to be involved 06:56 because we want to keep them as safe as we can. 07:00 To relieve a lot of the pressures 07:03 that the refugee families face when they enter America, 07:06 we gather furniture so they don't have to sleep 07:08 on the floor, mattresses, we get rice and beans, 07:12 some just basic necessities that they have. 07:15 So they feel comfortable when they come here. 07:17 Then we try to go and spend time with them 07:20 and get to know them. 07:22 And then after they stay approximately a year 07:25 in an international school 07:26 and learn a little bit of English, 07:28 then we will look at taking them 07:29 and trying to sponsor them 07:31 for education in a private school 07:33 so that way they have a really good foundation. 07:43 I'm on the campus of Andrews University. 07:45 And my guest is Dr. Andrew Tompkins 07:47 who is the Assistant Professor of World Mission 07:51 in the department of World Mission. 07:53 So close enough. Close enough. 07:54 Yeah. 07:55 Andrew, you are the newest staff member 07:58 I guess faculty member in this department. 08:00 Why does the department of World Mission exist? 08:03 Well, there are a wide variety of reasons, 08:05 but I think as a church, 08:06 we recognize that reflection on mission is many times 08:11 as important as the actual doing of mission 08:13 because over time, we do different things. 08:16 We try different things, 08:17 but we don't always reflect on what we're doing 08:19 and having a department is there 08:22 to help us think about what we're doing. 08:24 Good. 08:25 Now you've just completed a PhD dissertation. 08:30 How did going through this process 08:32 of reflection make a difference for you? 08:34 Yeah. So two ways. 08:36 Number one, my dissertation itself came 08:38 out of my experience in mission, 08:40 in practical experience, especially in India. 08:43 But by coming here and reflecting 08:45 on that I was able to grapple 08:46 with some of the more challenging issues I had faced 08:49 and start to think of solutions 08:51 that we can now try in the field 08:53 as we train other people. 08:55 So I think it does help a great deal. 08:56 Wonderful. 08:58 Now describe the type of students that you teach. 09:02 Who are the people who come here? 09:03 Yeah. 09:04 So by teaching at the seminary, 09:06 we actually get almost all future pastors 09:08 for the North American Division. 09:10 Plus, we get a wide variety of master students 09:12 from around the world who choose to come here 09:15 from various backgrounds not all will be pastors even, 09:18 and then we have doctoral students 09:20 who will be teaching mission. 09:21 So we're getting mostly pastors and future teachers 09:24 along with some who will be chaplains as well. 09:27 Wonderful. 09:29 Now you mentioned that your period of reflection 09:31 with your dissertation came from your mission experience. 09:34 Can you tell us a little bit about that? 09:36 Yeah, sure. 09:37 So I lived in India, a number of years. 09:40 I did a wide variety of things, 09:42 but one of my greatest interests and challenges 09:45 was how do we engage 09:46 with people who don't follow Jesus, 09:49 who don't use the Bible as a source of authority, 09:52 which there are many in India. 09:53 And as I lived there, 09:55 and those were my neighbors, I interact with them 09:57 and I started planting churches among people 10:00 from this background. 10:01 I was able to learn many things about how God works 10:04 and people outside of the church walls 10:06 before we get there. 10:08 And then how can I partner with God in sharing my faith. 10:11 And through that I learned a lot. 10:13 And then I've come and reflected 10:14 on some of the challenges 10:15 that were more difficult to deal with. 10:18 When we look at cross-cultural communication 10:21 and cross-cultural mission, 10:22 what are the some of the key things 10:23 we need to keep in mind? 10:25 Well, there's a large number of things obviously, 10:27 as a professor, that's one of our most, 10:30 I don't know, 10:31 challenging issues to bring before students is 10:33 we can't just assume everyone 10:35 will experience God the same way 10:37 that it's even necessary for them all 10:39 to experience God the same way. 10:41 We need to recognize 10:42 that tensions will come from people 10:44 even within the same faith, community 10:46 like Seventh-day Adventists, 10:47 just because they come from different parts 10:49 of the world, 10:50 they have different practices, 10:51 different ways of thinking. 10:53 And all of that can create tensions, 10:55 but also beautiful possibilities 10:56 for thinking about God and seeing God in new ways. 11:00 Now when you think back on your experience, 11:03 what did you learn from, 11:05 perhaps even some mistakes you might have made? 11:07 Sure. Yeah, I made many mistakes. 11:10 I had to learn a lot about patience especially, 11:13 it was a big thing. 11:15 You know, I tended to assume I knew everything, potentially, 11:20 but at least that I knew more than the people 11:22 I was with in India, for example. 11:23 And oftentimes, it was the opposite. 11:25 They knew much more about a local situation and issue. 11:28 And I had to learn to patiently listen, 11:30 and to allow them to teach me. 11:32 Many times we assume mission 11:34 is about us going to teach others 11:36 which that can be part of the journey, 11:38 but oftentimes, 11:40 you end up being someone 11:42 who receives mission back towards you 11:44 from those wherever you're going. 11:47 Now in popular culture here in North America, 11:50 and many other places, 11:51 when people think of missionaries, 11:53 it's often in very negative terms. 11:55 And so in the media, in literature, 11:58 missionaries are derided 11:59 because they take all this cultural baggage, 12:01 they're colonialist, etcetera, etcetera. 12:04 How do we defend the missionary enterprise 12:08 in today's world? 12:09 Well, I think part of it is admitting 12:11 there have been mistakes in the past. 12:12 Some of those fears are valid 12:14 because things have been done poorly at times, 12:17 where colonialistic, imperialistic attitudes 12:19 have existed among missionaries. 12:21 So admitting that is the start, 12:23 and then really looking at mission I use the word 12:26 even intercultural instead of cross-cultural 12:28 because it's about going and seeing people 12:31 and starting to journey together. 12:33 And yes, I have a faith journey 12:34 that may be longer than someone else's, 12:36 and so I have something to share, 12:37 but at the same time 12:39 mission is really journeying together with people in faith 12:42 and sharing new things, 12:43 and then receiving back new ideas 12:46 and it's getting people to see 12:47 that can start to overcome some of the baggage, the history. 12:51 So what are the positive contributions 12:53 that missionaries make? 12:54 I think they often bring an outside eye to situations 12:59 where people within a certain community 13:01 don't recognize what they're doing 13:02 is even an issue or a challenge. 13:05 They bring a new understanding of God 13:07 that wouldn't be there if they weren't there. 13:10 And so without some sort of cross-cultural, 13:12 intercultural interaction, 13:14 all of us would potentially be stunted 13:16 in our spiritual growth and faith, 13:18 and then there are places 13:20 where people haven't heard much about Jesus. 13:22 And, of course, 13:23 someone must go there from outside. 13:26 How did you first become involved in mission? 13:28 Why did you get involved? 13:30 Well, I don't know that I have one moment, 13:32 but I've often had interest in learning from other people 13:36 from cultures different than my own background. 13:39 And out of that along with my faith, 13:41 I think it was almost natural 13:42 that I would end up going places and meeting people 13:45 and being involved in cross-cultural mission. 13:47 And that happened when I was in academy even. 13:50 So it's been a long-time process. 13:54 How do we keep a mission focused, Andrew? 13:56 Oh, my. 13:57 Well, having a mission department 13:59 doesn't hurt at the seminary, 14:01 but I think ultimately, 14:04 it does come down to us as individuals. 14:06 If we really experienced Jesus, 14:08 I don't see why you wouldn't want 14:10 to share that with others. 14:11 And so if you're not interested in sharing with others, 14:14 I would question even your own experience with Jesus. 14:16 For me, it's almost natural to want to reach out. 14:19 But it does help when you have a community around you 14:21 who is intentionally talking about 14:23 and demonstrating mission 14:25 that can help some of the people 14:27 who are having a harder time. 14:28 Terrific. 14:29 Thank you so much for sharing with us today. 14:31 Thank you. 14:32 Viewers at home, 14:34 please pray for the Department of World Mission here 14:36 as Andrew has reminded us 14:37 touching the lives of many pastors 14:40 who will then go out into the field 14:42 and have tremendous influence throughout the world. 14:45 We'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2020-03-21