Over 5 days and 4 nights in St. Louis, I spent part of my Winter Break exploring what it means for me to be part of God's global mission. As a part of this missions conference that drew 16000 from all across the world, I participated in manuscript Bible Studies, heard speakers and testimonies calling us to action through the book of Matthew - the set of scriptures upon which the conference was founded on.
Below are some of the raw thoughts I've had after each day. I also wanted to call to light one particular track of Urbana that explores what it means to use technology towards God's global mission. For the sake of continuity and compartmentalizing my thoughts, I will share more about #hack4missions that in a following post.
Urbana Day 1
Arrived at Urbana, shocked by the scale that the conference was - the group of people that came expecting God grew larger and larger as I came closer to Urbana. 16,000 people coming together to explore our calling in God's global mission! The scale and magnitude of such an endeavor is something I've never been exposed to before, but how exciting!
Evening Session
We heard from Dr. Patrick Fung, a missionary who became a Christian the same year he entered medical school. As he leads medically-minded missions today, he tells his story of obeying God's call. What stuck with me from that session is that "obedience requires immediacy." There should be no hesistation when we answer God's call but the question at the front of my mind was - "How can we be sure it's God?" Later as we shared in our roommate huddles to reflect on the day's lessons, my roommate shared his experience reading a book entitled "Just do something." An entirely different perspective that takes a more proactive stance on the way we follow God - perhaps it's not about whether we're doing the "right" thing so much as it is about doing it for the "right reason". And to us as Christians, that "right reason" is deciding on the next steps in our lives as students, professionals, and believers with an attitude of doing what we do for God's Kingdom.
A social psychologist also shared with us the dangers of having an us-and-them mentality. We learned of a study by Keith Payne that demonstrated how people across all races and backgrounds misidentify a tool as a gun when paired sublimbly with a black face. She shared stories of her brother, studying at Yale's divinity school stopped by New Haven police for his skin color. We learned that these sorts of prejudcies CAN be overcome by actively recognizing them and choosing to act against them. And ultimately, it's on us to take steps to bring unity across the "us" groups that we're a part of.
Urbana Day 2
Morning Bible Study
Matthew 8: Jesus came to save all of us - regardless of our status in society or however the world perceives us. We see this in the text as Jesus heals a leper, a centurion's servant, and Peter's mother-in-law. The passage reminds us that we cannot be born into the Kingdom of God but it is by great faith (like the Centurion's) that we can sit at the feast with Abraham, Issac, and David.
Morning Session
Dr. Fung shares how his own father denounced him as a son when he chose to go into Pakistan as a missionary. The deep-seated and rooted opposition that the father had against his son's choice of vocation and expression of faith led him to hold a long-standing grudge against his son. Dr. Fung shared one particular experience of how his father cared for him indirectly by telling him to finish a plate of roast duck - a story that resonated particularly for me as a Chinese-American as I was reminded for how familial care can sometimes happen indirectly through actions such as reminding a son to eat, through spending the time to cook and prepare a meal for another, etc...
Evening Session
Wow what a filling two hours of worship, testimonies, and calls to actions! We heard from Francis Chan who called us to lead lives of action not dampened by deliberating amongst ourselves but to actively go out and share the good news with all those who haven't heard it before. We heard from a missionary working in a dangerous part in the world right now who convicted me to realize that God holds authority even in the valley of the shadow of death. We heard from a worship leader and activist who called us to realize and understand our brothers in the #blacklivesmatter movement - to SEE and take their stories at full value. To support and stand alongside our brothers who share their stories of injustice, saying "I see you, I believe you, and I support you." I was personally compelled to be more than a bystander to this movement and take deliberate actions to align and identify with those that are suffering injusticies. Ultimately, it shouldn't just be about validating their stories as it is about fighting the power of hate that draws from the inequalities and prejudicies innate in our cultures and lifestyles.
What a beautiful feeling it is to worship alongside thousands of Christians all calling out to God - we sang in different languages to lift up a God that is global, transcending cultural + language barriers. We took a trip to black church to experience and understand the stories behind gospel music - what it stands for and how it's developed through the African-American journey throughout history.
Urbana Day 3
Morning Bible Study
We studied the parable of the landowners and the day workers from Matthew 20. Main takeaways from this morning were that we don't get to decide who is called by the landowner (representing the Kingdom of God). It's also not up to our metrics to compare the severity and amount of work we do against other people in God's Kingdom - the parable reveals that everyone who is called by God deserves a place and can benefit from God's generosity. The focus of this passage is not on the day laborers but rather on the character of the landowner and what the Kingdom of God is like.
Morning Session
We heard from Dr. Fung again about what it means to be missional and why we can't borrow the spirituality of others. We studied the parable of the bridesmaids that brought and didn't bring oil for their lamps. He shared his own story of sending his daughter off to South Africa for missions - how he had to let go of his own reservations to let his daughter set out and build her own experience of faith and missions herself.
Evening Session
Tonight was a truly powerful experience that brought global context to our family of followers - we heard extremely difficult stories of persecution from our brothers and sisters held captive in solitary confinement for their faith. This was by far the most challenging night for me personally as I struggled to understand and comprehend:
Why, Lord? How can such suffering be a part of your will?
Most striking in these stories of persecution was the conviction that the persecuted had to love and care for their persecutors. They asked for prayer, not for just themselves but for their persecutors. I was floored that even in the midst of torturous suffering and stretches of unjust confinement and imprisonment, those that were persecuted chose to place love above all else. We learned of a man, despite threats against his life and the lives of his family, refusing to surrender the names and safety of his coworkers in faith - to trust in the Lord's power despite unimaginable suffering.
To me, I was convicted to stop ignoring this side of Christianity - to realize and recognize the stories of those that truly risk their lives for their faith. We were called to not turn away, to not turn the channel when a report of suffering breaks out, to not scroll past stories on our newsfeed that threaten the familiar comfort of facebook albums and status updates. Instead, we are called to raise up our brothers and sisters to bring their stories to light, to share them, and to support them in prayer and in spirit.
In the time that we had for reflection, I was reminded of Paul's words in Philipians 1, and wanted to share these words that I heard from the perspective of those that are persecuted for their faith.
I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.