Contextualizing Truth In The Workplace

Hans Nielsen Hauge, the 19th Century Norwegian evangelist-entrepreneur who preached throughout Norway and started businesses, taught about "living faith" at a time when the state Church in Norway was teaching something less.

Hauge was not an ordained pastor, and any religious assembly without a state-authorized minister present was unlawful. Hauge was imprisoned no less than 14 times. He spent 9 years in confinement, including one stint without seeing sunlight for nearly 4 years. Yet in spite of the resistance he met from Church leaders, Hauge encouraged his "Society of Friends" to remain in the state Church, because he believed the Church was the foundation of the nation.

Hauge wrote 33 books over 18 years. It is estimated that 100,000 Norwegians read one or more of his books when only about 900,000 in the entire country were literate. To say Hauge had a profound influence upon the spiritual life of Norway in his day is an understatement.

But Hauge had a profound influence on the material life of Norway, too. Hans loved God and loved people. Through the creation of profit-producing businesses, and the jobs that went with them, Hague mitigated poverty. After establishing new businesses, he delegated the management to capable others. Hauge helped his fellow Norwegians to see the altruistic possibilities of a biblically-informed approach to entrepreneurialism.

On February 27, 1809, civil authorities released Hauge for six months during a five-year sentence so he could establish salt mines for the government that imprisoned him! He established five mines in those six months. (Let's just say this man was gifted.)

Hauge was compelled by a vision for the Kingdom. A vision for the Kingdom of God to "come" wherever Christ's will was done on earth. This included every part of earth, from the farm, to the factory, to the family. Hauge had a wholistic understanding of the Gospel, for sure, and he embraced the notion of profit-making for the common good, similar to the Moravians. He saw no "sacred-secular divide."

He also saw women as equals. Frances Sejersted, former president of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, once declared: "The Hauge movement was a major contributing factor for developing democracy in Norway."

The Hauge Institute was founded in 2005 to raise awareness about Hauge's ethical practice and servant leadership. Click here for more about this extraordinary man and his indefatigable commitment to contextualizing Truth in the workplace. 

This painting, called Haugianerne, was created by Adolph Tidemand in 1852, some 28 years after the passing of Hauge. The scene depicts a meeting of The Society of Friends, which grew out of the life and teachings of Hans Nielsen Hauge. The Hauge Institute writes: "Societies of Friends were organised as the revival spread across the land.  They were sometimes called readers or students, because they studied the Holy Scriptures a great deal and were very knowledgeable.  They were also called Haugians.  Such Societies were registered all over the country; there must have been several thousand members altogether.  These groups met in their homes and spent much time together praying and teaching."

Why Is Norway #1?

The 18th and 19th Century influence of Christianity upon the common good and human flourishing of modern nations is remarkable. No accounting of it would be complete without discussing Hans Nielsen Hauge's extraordinary influence upon Norway.

A few months ago, I highlighted 19th-Century missionary influences upon Korea, and I suggested this may have something to do with South Korea ranking #9 out of 187 nations in the United Nations Human Development Index. I also pointed out that Norway is #1. This may have surprised you. It did me. Until I learned some Norwegian history.

Why is Norway #1? Perhaps it's because on April 5, 1796, a young Norwegian, age 25, had a life-altering encounter with God while walking behind a plow, singing a hymn.

Am I stretching things? Those who know what happened after this encounter don't think so. The experience Hans Nielsen Hauge had that day was so overwhelming he couldn't describe the joy. It changed him forever. He was filled with the Spirit, and began telling others about the resurrected Lord. The rest is Norwegian history.

Hauge (1771-1824) had the evangelistic fervor of Wesley, combined with the business acumen of a Moravian−on steroids. He had a love for Scripture, to which he turned for answers, even when those answers challenged the state Church establishment. He did not remain silent when it came to Truth. Hauge was imprisoned numerous times for violating the Konventikkel Ordinance, which forbade preaching independently of the Church of Norway.

Hans traversed Norway, north and south, preaching and teaching. A spiritual awakening ensued. People who heard him wept. The lives of many Norwegians were transformed through a personal encounter with the living Christ, just as Hauge's own life had been transformed.

But Hans didn't just preach and teach. He knitted gloves and socks has he traveled on foot, giving them to the poor as he went. But more than this, Hauge started diverse businesses, creating many jobs throughout the land. Think of him as the "Johnny Appleseed of Norwegian Commerce." Hauge was instrumental in starting fishing industries, brick yards, shipping operations, salt mines and paper mills. "Haugians" all over Norway established shops, founded factories and began industrial projects. 

Hauge literally started a movement that was not only spiritual, but economic. "Haugianism," as it became known, had a significant influence upon the foundation of modern Norway.

More to come.

Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824), has been called the "Apostle of Norway." 

Most Deterrents To Lasting Achievement Are Internal

Last week we examined the horrifying reasons why the "Moravian experiment" among American Indians was short-lived. But not all Moravian settlements were wiped out by paranoid neighbors. Most deterrents to lasting achievement are internal.

18th Century Moravians were characterized by an unusual "spirit," when it came to business. Specifically, they possessed an uncommon attitude toward profits. Otto Uttendörfer described it as "the spirit of sacrifice and of being content with little for oneself while devoting much to the Lord's cause."

The Moravian purpose for profit-making was not individualistic. Personal prosperity was not the aim. Their focus was on the Kingdom of God and/for the common good. The well-being of the community as a whole, both spiritually and economically, was the goal (as in oikonomia). This necessitated not only preaching the Gospel and discipling believers, but creating worthy employment for the whole community, believers or not.

But an altruistic approach to profit-making cannot be imposed by law. Nor can it be generationally passed on by fiat. As more communities experienced the blessings of profit, more individuals came into those communities not sharing the Moravian "spirit of profit-making." Consequently, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, today, is not the Bethlehem it once was.

William Danker, in Profit For the Lord, says the "General Economy" of early Bethlehem "died not of failure, but of success." He writes: "With rising prosperity, individual instincts to have, to hold, and to spend according to one's own desire reasserted themselves," and notes: "Religion became segregated from the realm of economics." [This is the sacred-secular divide Hobby-Lobby is challenging today.]

Danker quotes John Wesley with respect to the "curious inverse relation" between Christian faith and wealth: "For religion must of necessity produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, so will pride, anger, and love of the world in all its branches."

Count Zinzendorf was not a "controller," out to establish "Zinzendorf-towns," or to build "The Kingdom of the Moravian Church." Zinzendorf was of a mind to have Moravians absorbed by other churches, and cooperating with other Christian groups for common Kingdom-of-God causes. This may account for the fact that the number of Moravian congregations is relatively small today. The largest concentration of congregations is in Tanzania, Africa.

For information about Moravian-rooted businesses in Antigua, Aruba, Curacao and Suriname (including Kersten, the oldest trading company in the Western Hemisphere), click here and here.

This is a screenshot of the home page for MCF Business Enterprises, B.V.,  headquartered in The Netherlands. It is the parent organization for Moravian-rooted business enterprises in Antigua, Aruba, Curacao, and Suriname today. MCF was established to maintain "a harmonious unity between Church and business." Link: here.

 

This screenshot is the homepage of Kersten, a diversified conglomerate of companies in Suriname and oldest trading company in the Western Hemisphere, founded in 1768 by Moravians. The 12 operating companies in this conglomerate today are all limited liability enterprises, with a total of 648 employees, as of the latest information provided by MCF above. Link: here.

The Next Time You Drive Past A Native American Casino

How successful were the Moravians in helping American Indians start businesses? Today's Native Americans are famous for casinos in my state. What happened?  To answer, I must share something shameful I was not taught in US history class.

The Moravians were successful in establishing prosperous villages of Christian Indians. William Danker, in Profit For the Lord, describes one such Moravian Indian village, Friedenshütten, in Pennsylvania:

"The Indians lived in log houses with windows and chimneys like the homesteads of the settlers. The streets and alleys were kept scrupulously clean. In the center of the town stood the chapel with a school house as its wing. Behind the houses were fruitful gardens and orchards. Stretching down the river were cultivated fields and meadows. The converts had large herds of cattle and hogs, and poultry of every kind." 

These Christian Indians sold corn, maple sugar, butter, and dugout canoes made from white pine. Other Moravian Indian villages included Shekomeko in New York, Indian Pond on the Connecticut border, and Gnadenhütten in Ohio.

But during the Revolutionary War, the Christian Indians, along with Moravians, tried to preserve neutrality. They were suspected by both the British and the Americans as double-dealing. Indian war parties were hard to trace, but settled Christian Indians in villages were easy prey. They became scapegoats many American settlers wanted to eliminate.

Danker tells of 150 men from Pittsburgh moving against the village of Gnadenhütten: They "bound the peaceful inhabitants and murdered them two by two in two buildings they wantonly called 'slaughter houses.' White men, some of whom must have been baptized as Christians, scalped Christian Indians with biblical names who lived in white men's houses, wore white men's clothing, and used civilized utensils and tools in their homes and their work. Some of the Indians pleaded for their lives in fluent German and English. Yet the pitiless settlers spared not a single one." 

Six missionary assistants and their wives were butchered that day. In total, 96 defenseless people were scalped by whites: 28 men, 29 women, and 39 children. 

In time, all Moravian Indian villages came to an end. Danker concludes: "One cannot help wondering what the future of the Indian American and the future of Indian missions might have been if the Moravian experiment had not been choked in blood."

Think about this the next time you drive past a Native American casino.   

This mass grave mound of Christian Indians massacred at Gnadenhutten, Ohio, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Indians' bodies were first piled in mission buildings by the killers, and then the village was burned down. No criminal charges were ever filed. Years later, a missionary by the name of John Heckewelder collected the remains, and buried them in this mound, just south of the old village site. Left click on the photo one time to enlarge it. What lies on the other side of the street is quite a contrast. [This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unreported license. Attribution: Bwsmith84 at en.wikipedia.]

 

The First Modern Missionaries Created Profit-Producing Businesses

The first wave of Protestant missionaries in modern history was a surge of Moravians from Herrnut, Germany, in the 18th Century, under the leadership of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf. Notable about these missionaries is the fact that they left Herrnut for far-off places with enough money to get them to where they were going, understanding they would not be receiving financial support from home. 

These pioneers of missions believed it was a missionary's duty and obligation to not only "preach the Lamb" that was slain for the salvation of souls, but to also help with the physical needs of those they evangelized. For Moravians, this meant provision of a livelihood. This provision was a big part of what it meant to truly love the people to whom they were sent. Many of these missionaries built spiritually and economically integrated communities similar to Herrnut, a town built by Moravians on property Count Zinzendorf had granted, where one out of every thirty-five residents was a shoemaker.

The first modern missionaries created profit-producing businesses. Lots of them. One New World community, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1761, had nearly 50 businesses in a town of 2,500. Not only did these businesses meet the financial needs of the missionaries themselves, who earned their living "as they went," but they provided much-needed employment for the people they came to evangelize and truly love.

Besides saving souls, Zinzendorf wanted to "teach the natives the dignity of labor," and to promote the welfare of needy people. In the process, Moravian missionaries worked daily in the marketplace beside neighbors who knew not Christ. What better place to be a living witness? (What a novel idea!)

The Moravians traveled to neglected and marginalized people. They seemed to specialize in the poor and exploited of the world. Slaves in Surinam. Eskimos. Indians in America. Among the many kinds of businesses established were: textile manufacturing, pottery-making, baking, and watch-making. In Labrador, the missionaries owned trading posts and cargo ships.

Zinzendorf disliked taking offerings, or appealing for aid. According to William J. Danker, author of Profit for the Lord, Zinaendorf's said reason for rejecting the collection-plate economy was because he did not think it was right to interfere [compete] with other Christian causes. But, clearly, there was more to his thinking.

For more on the Moravian theology of work and missions, I recommend William Danker's book:

In Profit for the Lord, William J. Danker wrote: "...the most important contribution of the Moravians was their emphasis that every Christian is a missionary and should witness through his daily vocation. If the example of the Moravians had been studied more carefully by other Christians, it is possible that the businessman might have retained his honored place within the expanding Christian world mission beside the preacher, teacher, and physician."

Moravians Didn't Think So

Not long after the "Iron Curtain" came down in the late 1980s, a friend of mine spoke to a group of believers in Eastern Europe on the topic of economics. When he suggested they start small businesses, even if popping popcorn at home, putting it into bags, and selling it on the street for a profit, the question was raised: "But wouldn't it be wrong to sell something to others for more money than you paid for it?"

The idea among Christians that profit-making is somehow wrong [or to be greatly minimized] is more common than you might think, even in the USA. I speak from personal experience here, because I do workshops for churches and other Christian organizations, as well as individuals. My work is viewed as "ministry," and this is a code word among Christians meaning without profit. Consequently, I have a "Donate" button at the side of this blog. But few use it.

Yet, for followers of Christ, is there any legitimate work that is not ministry? Can a believer do work "heartily as unto the Lord" and not have that work be worship?

Any work that's worth doing is a way of serving God and loving people. Do you repair cars? You're loving people! Do you sell shoes? You're ministering to people! Do you work at a bank? You're in the ministry of money management! It's ministry when done "unto the Lord." So does making a profit in the process somehow void the idea that "a man's shop and his chapel are both holy ground?"

18th Century Moravians didn't think so.

In 1457, sixty years before Martin Luther officially started the Reformation, the longest-lived Protestant church was formed. They called themselves the Unitas Fratrum, or United Brethren. They emerged out of the teachings of John Hus, a Catholic rector of the University of Prague who criticized the Church for selling indulgences, and argued that all Christians had the right to read the Bible for themselves. He was burned alive in 1415 for his "heresy."

The United Brethren suffered persecution and suppression for the first 250 years, but experienced great vigor in the 18th Century under the leadership of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf and a Moravian carpenter by the name of Christian David. The church became known as the Moravians.

What happened then may surprise you. It did me.

Stay tuned.

"The Germans Calmly Sang On"

The Wesleyan revival set in motion a series of "happenings" that led to significant reforms in England. Those reforms [including the abolition of slavery, and more] touched the world, as far off as Africa, America and India. But to have a fuller understanding of Wesley and the Wesleyan revival, one must understand the people God used to get the preacher himself on track: the Moravians.   

In 1735, Wesley spent eight weeks on board a wooden ship crossing the wide Atlantic with 80 English and 26 Moravians from Germany. They were sailing to the New World colony of Georgia. A young Wesley was on his way to convert Indians to Anglicanism. In his journal, he wrote of a fierce gale arising just as the Moravians were starting to sing:  

"In the midst of the psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards, 'Was [sic] you not afraid?' He answered, 'I thank God, no.' I asked, 'But were not your women and children afraid?' He replied, mildly, 'No; our women and children are not afraid to die.' A couple of sentences later, Wesley added: "This was the most glorious day which I have hitherto seen."

The personal, living faith demonstrated by the Moravians deeply impressed Wesley. It was a kind of faith he had not known for himself. At the time of the storm, Wesley was fearful of death. Upon his arrival in Georgia, Wesley got to know a Moravian Pastor by the name of Spankenberg. This man asked Wesley if he personally knew Jesus Christ. That question led to many more questions.

Through Wesley's continuing contact with the Moravians, observing their lives lived by simple faith in Christ, he was drawn to the Scriptures. Eventually, after returning to England, Wesley experienced his own "great change," to use the language William Wilberforce employed in describing his personal encounter with Christ years later. 

Before I get off this history kick I'm on, I must dedicate more space to the Moravians. Why? Because of their theology of work, which provided a driver for their enthusiastic integration of faith, business, and profit-making.

Did I say profit making? Yes, profit making!

 

The Effects Of Persecution Are Unpredictable

“It is impossible to tell from a typical sermon whether the preacher is a follower of Confucius, Muhammad, or Jesus Christ.”

Sir William Blackstone made this observation over 200 years ago, “after visiting the churches of every major clergyman in London,” reports Chuck Stetson in his 2007 foreword to the reprint of William Wilberforce’s manifesto, A Practical View of Real Christianity.

By the time Blackstone toured London's churches in the 1700s, he “did not hear a single discourse which had more Christianity in it than the writings of Cicero,” relates Stetson.

What led to Blackstone’s observations? For one thing, vicious anti-Puritan legislation was passed by the British Parliament in 1661. As a result, ministers who were Puritans (1/5th of all British clergy) were expelled from the Church of England.

But the effects of persecution are unpredictable, as in the case of early 20th-Century Korea, after the anti-Christian Japanese imperialists imprisoned 2,000 Korean Christ-followers who refused to bow the knee to the Japanese Emperor-god.

In England, after John Wesley's heart had been “strangely warmed” by the Holy Spirit in 1739, he began to preach a different message in his open-air meetings, outside the institutionalized church. Over the next fifty years, Wesley (1703-1791) commissioned many preachers who were not ordained or licensed by the Church of England.

At the same time, Wesley organized groups of believers to meet for the mutual strengthening of their faith through a structured approach to discipleship, beyond the purview of the ecclesiastical establishment. Wesley's "method" of advancing real Christianity via structured discipleship groups became a hallmark of “Methodism.”

In 1786, when the Methodist movement was in high gear, William Wilberforce experienced his own personal spiritual awakening, just five years before Wesley passed on. Wilberforce called this his “great change.”

If it had not been for the persecution-stirred awakening of 18th Century England in which John Wesley played such a significant role, I wonder if William Wilberforce’s conversion would have taken place.

I also wonder what effects John Wesley's method of group discipleship had on Wilberforce’s Clapham Circle, where believing friends practiced the kind of "real Christianity" they were not hearing about in church.

Lifesize statue of John Wesley at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. Photo by Adam Davenport. This file, from Wikipedia, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

The Reformation Of Merry Olde England

William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833) [Public domain.]

Two weeks ago, I mentioned Wilberforce's influence on Wes Lane in starting the SALLT Academy in Oklahoma City, where modern-day Clapham Circles address specific needs in the culture-at-large. What I didn't have space to say is that in Wilberforce's day, 25% of the single women in London were prostitutes, and liquor flowed so plentifully that the day became known as the “Gin Age.”

Chuck Stetson, in his Foreword to the 2007 reprint of Wilberforce’s manifesto, A Practical View of Real Christianity, writes that “gambling was a national obsession and ruined thousands.” Stetson goes on to say, “daylight fornication [was practiced] on the village green,” and he tells of "auctioning one’s wife at a cattle market.” On top of this, Stetson reports, “executions, known as Hanging Shows, attracted huge crowds.”

But that's not all: “…murder, general lawlessness, thieves and highwaymen were so prevalent that Horace Walpole warned, ‘One is forced to travel, even at noon, as if one were going to battle.’” And there's more: false signals were lit at night on the seashore to lure ships into rocks where the wrecks were plundered, with no regard for drowning sailors.

Merry Olde England? Indeed.

As a young member of the British Parliament, Wilberforce was active in politics when converted to Christianity in his 20s. At first, he thought about leaving politics and going into “the ministry.” But John Newton, the former slave trader who wrote the words to Amazing Grace, persuaded Wilberforce that followers of Christ were needed in Parliament. Thank God for Newton’s wise counsel to Wilberforce!

Wilberforce is famous for his tireless efforts to abolish the slave trade. But Wilberforce had a second great goal: “the reformation of [British] manners.” He was not talking about British table manners. He was referring to British culture. The culture described above. No doubt this was another reason Newton urged Wilberforce to use his influence as a follower of Christ in Parliament.

But there is more to the story of the reformation of Merry Olde England. God raised up another man for such a time as that─just prior to Wilberforce.

We'll get to him next week.

Coram Deo: A School for Discipling Nations

When it comes to bringing the Good News of the Kingdom to communities and nations around the globe, the Disciple Nations Alliance, co-founded by Darrow Miller and Bob Moffitt in 1997, has its "boots on the ground." They are friends of Worldview Matters, and we are partners in the common cause of the Kingdom.

The Disciple Nations Alliance began as a joint initiative of Food for the Hungry and the Harvest Foundation. Its mission is: "to envision and equip local churches worldwide to fulfill their strategic, God-given roles in the transformation of communities and nations, through wholistic, incarnational ministry."

Miller and Moffitt began the work of DNA by teaching five-day Vision Conferences. The first Vision Conference was held in Lima, Peru, and since then, hundreds of Vision Conferences have been held in more than 60 nations throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

As the Vision Conferences multiplied, local leaders emerged with a passion to spread the training in their own communities and nations. Today, local, self-governing DNA networks exist in more than 45 countries, including a prominent African network called Samaritan Strategy Africa.

I'm very pleased to let you know that DNA recently put the content of their Vision Conference into video format for use by churches and individuals. This 12-week course, called Coram Deo: A School for Discipling Nations, will be available in April. 

The Coram Deo teaching series is for people longing to see more evidence of the Kingdom of God in their own nations, cities and families, as well as in themselves. As the DNA website puts it, "It is for the NGO executive, the stay-at-home parent, the business leader, and the young college grad ready to change the world."

Darrow Miller is the author of LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Everyday. I have made this excellent book required reading in our distance-learning course for Christian educators: "Increase Meaning: A Wholistic Approach to Christian Education."  

For more details about Coram Deo, visit: coming in April.  Consider using this series as a Sunday School class in your church, or with a small group in your home.

This photo was taken last June while Darrow (center) and I were team-teaching at a YWAM base in Guadalajara, Mexico. Our interpreter, Nicole Curiel, is on the right.

 

Current Clapham Circles

Where can Christ-followers be trained and encouraged to engage with the pressing issues of our day, as Wilberforce's "Clapham Circle" did 200 years ago? Actually, there are more groups focusing on how to do this today (for good reason) than you might think. One such group is in Oklahoma City.

Several years ago, I was invited by the former District Attorney of Oklahoma County, Wes Lane, to spend a day teaching at the Salt And Light Leadership Training (SALLT) Academy. Among those present that day were two sitting Oklahoma senators (one was running for Lieutenant Governor), the County Commissioner, the President of Oklahoma Christian University, a former Miss America, an owner of the city’s baseball team, a member of the Oklahoma City School Board, the Director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial, as well as prominent business leaders (including the CEO/founder of Hobby Lobby, David Green), and numerous lawyers.

The SALLT Academy is a nine-month training program. Members come together one day per month to receive instruction, pray, and focus on specific issues in light of the biblical worldview. They gather for the purpose of leveraging their passions, skills, and influence for the common good.

learn how to leverage their passions, skills, and influence for the common good. - See more at: http://www.sallt.com/#sthash.XjJfvuVD.dpuf

SALLT curriculum to learn how to leverage their passions, skills, and influence for the common good. - See more at: http://www.sallt.com/#sthash.a1ZYcFai.dpuf

Wes Lane's model for the SALLT Academy is William Wilberforce and his "Clapham Circle." Wilberforce was the 18th Century member of the British Parliament most famous for his tireless efforts to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain. The Clapham Circle was a group of Wilberforce's friends and associates living in the village of Clapham, near London. These businessmen, bankers, and politicians came together to focus on key issues of their day. Not just to talk about the issues, but to put their hands to the plow, and affect change. 

Wes's vision for SALLT continues to unfold today, not only locally, but globally. What began in Oklahoma City in 2008 is now a model for other cities. Pray that God will guide Wes and his team as they continue to inspire influential followers of Christ to put their faith to work in the context of their culture, for the common good, and the glory of God.

For more about current Clapham Circles started by SALLT members, visit Clapham Circles.

Members of SALLT putting their hands to the plow during a Worldview Matters training day.

With Wes Lane while teaching at the SALLT Academy in 2009.

The Contaminated Kingdom of God

Have you thought much about the contaminated Kingdom of God? The what!? Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it. 

I'm not talking about the perfect expression of His Kingdom yet to come, but the present condition of God's Kingdom, infected by a malicious enemy (Satan), who came in the night and sowed bad seed into the Lord’s good field (Matthew 13:37-43).

Yes, the field is the Lord's. All of it. It's His stuff, and we're living in His space. It all belongs to Him (Ps. 24:1). Jesus is Lord of all. And the domain over which He is King includes every square inch of both temporal and eternal reality─even if those who live within that space don't acknowledge its ownership.  

The fact that we presently live in a contaminated field may be the crux of the reason why so many Christians tend to withdraw from this world, and why some see the work of a pastor or a missionary as the only eternally worthwhile occupation.

We don’t like to think of God's stuff as infected, sick, and broken. Furthermore, we tend to think that because the field is infested with weeds, it isn’t worth a dime to God or anyone else.

This may be the reason why some Christians seem to focus more on the after-life than the current life. Not only do temporal things decay, but when we see so much human activity contaminated by pride and greed, the natural tendency is to distance ourselves from those occupations that are characterized by manifestations of infection.

Politics is a case in point. “It’s dirty.” Indeed it is! And when we see big business infected by mammonism, we tend to think devout Christians should disassociate themselves from occupations dealing with large sums of money.

Really?

While there are certain occupations that can never be pleasing to God (such as human trafficking), there are many occupations waiting to be redeemed [restored, renewed] by the grace of God, through His people acting as His agents in the world, yet not of the world.

As followers of Christ, shouldn't we be heading into the problem areas, rather than away from them?

There will come a day when "The Son of Man will send out His angles, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness (Matt. 13:40)," but until then, let's occupy the entire field.

"Have You Eaten And Are You Safe?"

While in Korea recently, I asked one of my Korean hosts why they work so hard. I was curious to know what was behind the extraordinary rise of South Korea from one of the poorest nations on earth to number 9 out of 187 in the United Nations Human Development Index, within a span of 60 years. His answer boiled down to: a drive to survive. South Koreans are highly motivated to never be ruled by another outside power again.

Memories of the 20^th Century Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 until the end of World War II, followed by aggression from North Korea, are part of South Korea's “DNA” today.  When friends greet one another, it is not uncommon for them to ask, “Have you eaten, and are you safe?” This custom is rooted in 20^th Century suffering.

What effects did the rule of Japan over Korea have upon the burgeoning body of Christ that followed the Great Pyeongyang Revival Movement of 1907? 

Japan was aggressively anti-Christian. Shinto worship was made compulsory in the schools, as well as in churches. Enforced worship of the Emperor led to persecution of Christians who would not comply, with some 2,000 believers being imprisoned, and 200 churches being closed down. In one case, the Japanese burned down a church with the congregation inside—burned alive.

Not all Christians participated in civil disobedience, however, as church leaders were divided on the issue. Dr. Kirsteen Kim, Professor at Leeds Trinity University College (UK), reports that “the missionaries argued for a separation of religion and politics, and discouraged Koreans from resisting the Japanese. They consciously promoted revival activities in order for Koreans to internalize their faith…”

 

This message did not sit well with Korean Christians: “Despite the apolitical message of the missionaries and the hope of a life to come,” writes Dr. Kim, “what Korean believers read in their Bibles was a political message for the here and now…the language of regeneration by the Holy Spirit was directly connected by [Korean leaders of the 1907 Revival] with the restoration of the nation…” 

Professor Kim says early Christianity in Korea was “a revitalizing force that inspired Korean activity toward development.” This was a "public theology" of Christianity. By design or default, it was a ball 19th Century missionaries got rolling. While 20th Century missionaries preached a more privatized Gospel, it fell on deaf ears.

Dr. Kim's paper, "Christianity's Role in the Modernization and Revitalization of Korean Society in the Twentieth-Century," was published in the International Journal of Public Theology, 2010. Readers interested in the knowing more about the "public theology of Christianity" that motivated early Korean Christians may contact me at overman@biblicalworldview.com for a complimentary copy, courtesy of Professor Kim.

While At The Cemetery

I took this photo of the gravestone of Canadian medical missionary Robert A. Hardie while in South Korea recently. My guide let me know this man made a public confession of sin which started a movement of repentance among Christians in Korea known as the Wonsan repentance movement of 1903. This movement is considered by many to be the starting point of the Great Pyeongyang Revival Movement of 1907.

The Great Pyeongyang Revival Movement of 1907? What's that?

This outpouring of the Spirit began during a 10-day Bible conference for Korean men in Pyongyang (now the capital of North Korea), in January of 1907. Public confession of sin among the nearly 1,500 men at the conference overflowed into a mass movement of spiritual awakening across Korea.

Elmer L. Towns and Douglas Porter, in their book, The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever, report that the Korean 1907 Revival Movement rapidly grew until the number of Protestant church members in 1912 reached about 300,000, in a nation of just 12 million. This was no small thing, considering the Protestant missionary movement didn't really get going in Korea until 1884.

Towns and Porter also report that the revival "had an almost immediate impact in the nation's Christian colleges. Ninety percent of the students at Union Christian College in Pyongyang professed conversion in February 1907." Remember, the Christian schools provided Korean leadership for the next generation.

In addition, they point out that the missionaries required adult Korean converts to learn to read Korean before admitting them to church membership. And to distinguish Christians from collaborators with the Japanese (who had recently invaded and occupied Korea), "the patriots required Christians to recite chapters from the Bible to prove they were Christians. The result was a 100 percent literacy rate among Christians in a largely illiterate nation. Their ability to read made Christians the natural leaders of the Korean society."

Three of the top five universities in Korea today have a Christian foundation. Regrettably, not unlike colleges started by Christians in the USA, the Christian distinctions of those schools have been lost. The same can be said of most of the early "mission schools" started by missionaries of the late 19th and early 20th Century. But a resurgence of distinctively Christian schools in Korea has taken place over the last 20 years.

The Pyeongyang Revival Movement came at a critical time in Korean history. The next four decades were to bring Koreans into a level of suffering few nations have known. I'll continue from here next week.

Meanwhile, below are more photos taken while at the cemetery:

H. B. Hulbert is said to have "loved Korea more than Koreans did."

H. G. Appenzeller established the Pai Chai School, which "produced many capable men who served the Korean people based on the values of the Gospel." Appenzeller founded the Korean Methodist church, and helped with the Korean translation of the Bible.

Another pioneer of Christian education in Korea is William M. Baird. The school he started in his living room grew into a university! Baird also made contributions to the translation of the Old Testament into Korean.

Mrs. M. F. Scranton, a pioneer of education for women in Korea, is described as a "forerunner of modern education for women." She came to Korea at the age of 52, from the USA, and passed on at the age of 76, having dedicated herself to spreading the Gospel and the betterment of Korean women for the last 24 years of her life.

Players In Public Life

The "Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetary," on a hill in Seoul, Korea, was designated in 1890 as a site for burying foreign missionaries by Emperor Gwangmu, 26th King of the Joseon Dynasty, and the first Emperor of the Korean Empire. [Photo by Matthew Smith, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.]

In the secularist view of development, Christianity is not always seen as a positive contributor to the cause.  That’s because it is often stereotyped as “institutional” rather than community-oriented, and relegated to “private inspiration” rather than viewed as a major player in public life.

The history of Korea, however, tells a different story. In the late 19^th Century, Korea was mostly illiterate, without roads or railways, power or sewer systems. At this point in history, Protestant Christian missionaries (Presbyterians and Methodists) came from the USA, England, South Africa, Canada and other nations. 

These missionaries of the late 19^th Century and the early 20^th Century saw themselves as players in public life, and were embraced as such by many Koreans. Were these missionaries discipling a nation? I'd say so. Today, they occupy a place of honor in Korean history. 

I was privileged to visit the "Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery," as it is called today by its caretaking church, while in South Korea this week. At this cemetery are 145 graves belonging to foreign missionaries and family members. The brochure for the cemetery says: “Abandoning promising careers back home, they came to share the light of the Gospel with ‘Corea’ which was then unknown. The missionaries profoundly influenced Korean society, not only by establishing hospitals and schools, but by affecting its intangible values, thus contributing to the abolition of the class hierarchy in old Korea.” About 231 graves of other foreigners are at the site as well, which is also called the Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery.

The missionaries not only brought the Gospel of salvation, but helped lead Korea into modernization. They did this partly through the establishment of schools. At one point, the number of schools started by missionaries reached 400. It was from these schools that future leaders of Korea came. And this education was not only for males, but for females too, which changed Korea. 

Christianity “caught on” in Korea. They took to the Bible like kids in a candy store. I’m not sure of all the reasons for this, except to say it was a move of the Holy Spirit, beyond human orchestration or control. This was certainly the case with the Wonsan repentance movement of 1903, which led to the Great Pyeongyang Revival Movement, or “Korean Revival” of 1907, viewed by some as the major catalyst for the spiritual-social-cultural transformation of South Korea. 

I’ll say more next week.

Culture-Shaping Vision

As today's post goes out, I'm in South Korea. I have spent the week teaching at the Asian Center for Theological Studies and Mission, focusing on the intersection between wholistic Christian education, theology of work, and human flourishing. Prayer would be appreciated, as tomorrow I meet with division heads of E-land, the largest fashion and retail company (by revenues) in Korea, sharing on the integration of wholistic Christian faith and work, then speaking on Sunday at the Suwon Central Baptist Church, and on Monday and Tuesday at a convention of the Korean division of the Association of Christian Schools International. They're working me hard over here, but I'm happy to speak as long as somebody will listen. (Apparently somebody wants to hear something, as this is my third speaking invitation to this country in the past six years.)

In last week's post, I asked why some parts of the world that have been "Christianized" and "churched," such as sub-Saharan Africa, have not experienced the kind of developmental outcomes that Puritan-spawned America experienced for 350 years. The history of South Korea is markedly different.  

When a ceasefire was called between North and South Korea in 1953 (technically, the war is not over, and North Korea seems bent on reminding the South of this now and then), both the North and the South were in shambles. They were among the poorest nations on the planet. Yet in 2013, South Korea ranked 9 among 187 countries in the 2013 Human Development Index published by the United Nations.

The chart below shows the UN rankings since 1980 among the 38 nations that make up the top 20% of the Development Index. [Norway is currently #1 and the US is #3.] What is particularly noteworthy, is the stellar rise of South Korea.

Some have wondered to what degree Christianity, directly or indirectly, has played a role in the development of South Korea. While cause-and-effect factors are often impossible to quantify [correlation is not the same as causation], the culture-shaping vision of Christian educators, civil servants, health workers, and business leaders in Korea is an important story to tell. It reads like a Dickens novel.

I'll say more next week.

The United Nations Human Development Index measures development by combining indicators of life expectancy, education attainment, and income. Each line in the above chart represents a specific nation. This chart shows the highest ranked 38 countries, which is the top 20% of tne 187 countries measured. The highlighted nation above is South Korea. (Click the image once to enlarge it.)