3 Cups of Coffee

It was going to be another ordinary weekend. Discipleship. Gym. Karaoke. Jamming. I couldn't sign up for Operation Encounter because the spaces were filled. Then, at camp, someone fell sick. And I got a phone call. "We have an extra space. You interested?"

I'm glad I went. It wasn't just another evangelistic event. We learned about the heart and soul of culture. There are many different ways to see the world. That's why we have many different cultures. If you visit an Arab friend, he gives you 3 cups of coffee. The first represents peace between you and him. The second represents friendship; the reason he invited you into his home in the first place. The third represents the sword; his willingness to die for you. Profound!

During dinner I asked someone if he would give me three cups of coffee. He said he would give me two and a half cups. Why two and a half cups? Maybe because the half cup was a sword like the one used by Peter Pan. Or a Keris. Anyway, if someone asked me if I would give them 3 cups of coffee, I would say no. Because I'm not Arab =)

According to James W. Sire, "Everyone has a worldview". What does a typical worldview look like? At OE, we learned it looks like an onion. The onion has 3 layers. The first is called 'cultural behaviour'. It is "Manners, conduct; a way of behaving" according to the Reader's Digest Great Encyclopaedic Dictionary.

Let's look at cultural behaviour of the Agta people in the Philippines. A little boy is caught stealing a missionary's pen. The boy's father scolds him and beats him. Like what most parents would do. But there's more. Dad picks up a machete and chops down his house. Then he leaves the village with his family. They are gone for three months. Then they return and rebuild their house. That's how the Agta people punish stealing. If it was the Middle East the boy's hand would just be chopped off.

our cultural behaviour is influenced by our cultural values, defined as what is considered good and honourable in a culture. In many traditional cultures, the 3 greatest things of value are survival, community and identity. men go out to hunt or plant food to feed their families while women take care of children. everyone participates in group activities such as harvest festivals and initiation ceremonies when boys become men. And there is a connection to the land because the people farm and hunt on it for food.

On the other hand, the three most important things in western culture are mobility, convenience and privacy. We buy a car because we can drive around to anywhere. We depend on our mobile phones to call people any time we need them. we build tall fences and make sure the neighbour's house doesn't have windows overlooking our backyard.

At the core of our worldview is cultural beliefs. it is our beliefs that drive our values. a belief is defined as what is held to be true or real, with or without evidence.

Some cultures practice negative values. In Irian Jaya, Indonesia, there is a tribe that practices betrayal. They think it's honourable to backstab your friend. Don Richardson, a missionary to the tribe was telling them about Jesus and Judas. When they heard about Jesus, they thought he was a good person. When they heard about Judas, they thought he was a hero because he betrayed Jesus for good money! Don struggled to tell them why Judas was wrong. Then he realized that this tribe made a peace agreement with another tribe, by giving up one of their people to marry another person in that other tribe. The first son or daughter born from that couple was called the 'peace child'. If someone killed the peace child, the two tribes would become very angry. So Don Richardson described Jesus as a peace child; He came to make peace with God and man. Judas killed the peace child. Immediately, their perception of Judas went from hero to zero!

OE rocked. So did the people and organization that ran it! Wycliff Bible Translators is all about making the Word accessible to every tribe and tongue, in their own native language. Their passion to reach out and willingness to teach us how is exemplary. Three cups of coffee for them =)

Food for thought

OCF Convention 2006. Man, I had the most interesting angel back then. He gave me the bird...


The apple was getting brown as I only checked the fridge few days after being informed of the bird's existence. But before his spark of creativity he sent me this note:


Thought before the food. God uses any schmuck? okayyy... anyway this angel really rocked. Because I don't remember who my angels were in all the camps I'd been... except for this one.

Reminiscence: prayer meet

Semester 1 2008. These were challenging times for OCF AU. So a few of us decided to have prayer meet every morning. 

After that we would head off to David Jones for brekkie...

I seriously need to learn how to be dependent on God again, to the extent of seeking Him first thing in the morning. Iron sharpens iron; the journey made worthwhile, with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ.

Easter Camp

A week before camp, I went up to the site with a few others to pray. Among our prayer points was an increase in numbers. So far that week only 55 people signed up, only slightly more than half of what was expected.

The power of answered prayer. around 120 people went for Ecamp. There were not enough bunks for everyone, so a couple of brave souls (myself included) decided to sleep in the gym. The next morning it felt like waking up in a giant refrigerator.

God moved mightily at Ecamp. During the apologetics session there was a guy who kept challenging the speaker with theologically impossible questions. That night God opened the spiritual eyes of this 'doubting Thomas' to see Him for who He really was. The angels in heaven rejoiced and a few of us wept for joy as he declared Jesus his Lord. This, my friends, is why we have Ecamp. Not just to remember His death, but to celebrate the return of prodigal sons and daughters. And it was His Cross that made this possible!

Many people question the relevance of OCF. "Students are better off serving in church", they say, "under the guidance of pastors and paid staff workers". Even churches nowadays have their own international student ministries. The answer lies not in whether OCF is relevant (that's an irrelevant question) but in how it has changed and impacted the lives of so many students who called themselves OCFers. And these students have gone on to become pastors and missionaries to distant lands. Among them are those who got saved in camps like this one, and now go on to preach the joy of salvation to their family members, their friends and to the ends of the earth.

And so, I feel proud to belong to OCF. It is a ministry unlike any other. It's not perfect. Of course there are conflicts. Of course there are politics. But it has accomplished much more for the Greater Good. So here's to 50 years of OCF, and here's to 50 more easter camps to come!

Life after the presidency

What's life like after serving as president of OCF? FREEDOM! No more early saturday mornings, no more having to tolerate judgement and gossip from people outside the committee. No more sleeping 5 hours every night for 3 months. No more having to put up a front of being in control when my whole world was crashing to the ground. Life was fantastic as a leader. I remember this one week last semester when my cousin got hepatitis A. Then I became very sick. My appetite was replaced with vomiting and nausea. I had an assignment due the next day. On friday, the numbers in OCF suddenly dropped. I prayed and cried out to God, "Why?" And then I had a financial disagreement with a certain someone, and was threatened to court. Life was an action movie, the only thing was that I lost the remote.

But God has been faithful. Through the blur of misfortune and circumstance, He brought newcomers who were eager to serve in OCF. Prayers were answered as those earnestly seeking eventually accepted Him as their Lord and Saviour. There were young members who grew and stepped up to serve. OCF bonded well and got to know each other better. I'm amazed at how God uses our sicknesses, late nights, tiredness, prayer meetings and assignments to accomplish His purposes. We can be amazingly talented, organized or intelligent but sometimes God allows us to fail in order to demonstrate Who's in control. In losing the remote, I found the Owner.

I need to stop believing in myself. That I can do things better. That there will come a time when I will be control. That I will be able to solve my problems. I need to believe in the One who knew me even before I was born. I want to know His plans to give me a bright future. How do I live under His Control? It's hard to let go. But I know that to not let go is to set myself up for the same failures, inadequacies and disappointments that unfold when I lean on my own understanding. Do I trust Him? I have my whole life to work out what it means to say "Yes".

Method vs Heart

A young Christian leader was given the task of inviting an elder to give a workshop on 'How to lead a Bible Study group' for his youth fellowship. That Christian leader emailed the elder, giving him points on what he should talk about for the workshop. When he phoned the elder for a confirmation, this was what the elder said (paraphrased):

Brother, I would like to comment on the points you sent me. These points focus a lot on method. On how to prepare Bible study materials. How to make bible study members talk. How to follow up the members. How to do things in general. Now this alone is very shallow. The fundamental principle of good leadership is having the right attitude. Of having the heart to teach the members, of wanting them to grow to be more Christ-like. Of having the desire to see people changed; the Word becoming meaningful to their lives. '

I admit that I am that Christian leader. That my life has been too focused on method. That my favourite words have been 'System, Strategy, Solution, Efficiency, etc'. No doubt these things are important. But what are the missing words that should come first? 'Heart and Attitude'. Youth Fellowship is not a corporation. If we focus on method but our heart is not right before God, we may have limited success, but we would not be doing His Will. His Will should be first in our lives, not right methods.

Yet it's easy to become too focused on the right attitude and forget that things need to be done properly for God's Kingdom to prosper. For this I have one word, 'Balance'. Lord, I pray that Your people will be wise in having a heart that is right before You first, then putting this right heart to action through the right methods. Amen.