reflections and observations on life and ministry in Thailand, from a Reformed perspective
Church History Timeline From 1500
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 00:00
One my goals in teaching church history at Bangkok Bible Seminary is to develop resources to help make church history accessible for my students. There are a small number of church history book available in Thai, but my students were asking for handouts summarizing what I was teaching in the classroom. Eventually, I will find time to make those handouts but in the meantime, I have made some interactive church history timelines to help them review what we've been learning.
Earlier this year, I created a church history timeline to 1500 (Thai & English) to help my students prepare for their mid-term exam. And now that the end of the school term is upon us, I have created another church history timeline from 1500 to the present (to help my students prepare for the final exam, of course).
Click on each frame of the timeline (or use your left and right arrow buttons) to advance to the next frame or use the scroll bar on the bottom to travel back and forth through time. In the top right corner you also have the option to view as a chart (default) or as a list (vertical listing of events).
Interview with Dr. Manoch Chaengmuk, Director of Bangkok Bible Seminary
Monday, 13 May 2013 00:00
I recently had
time to sit down with Dr. Manoch Chaengmuk, director of Bangkok Bible Seminary to
talk about his life and ministry.We
talked about how he came to faith, family opposition, the current state of the
seminary and the church in Thailand, and prayer requests.It was a fascinating interview all around and
I wish I had more time to chat with him.
I interviewed
him in Thai and I have included below an MP3 of the interview for those
who understand Thai.For those who do
not, I have written up an abridged transcript of the interview in English.I didn’t include everything in the English
transcript, but about 90% of our conversation is there.I hope that you find this interview with Dr.
Manoch as interesting as I did.
There are scores of quiet time books which stress making Bible reading a daily habit: Daily Bread, Daily Light, Daily Guideposts, and a huge variety of other Daily devotional aids for every age group. I've used many of them, so I'm not sure why the title of a new devotional caught my eye - "Once-A-Day Bible". Then it dawned on me. I've been thinking about Brother Lawrence whose "Practicing the Presence of God" is still a classic after 400 years. What if all they had in the monastery was the "Once-A-Day" Bible. Would Brother Lawrence read his portion for the day and then say, "Ok, glad that's finished. Once in the Bible is enough for today." Mind you, a "Once-a-Day" Bible is much better than a "Once-in-Awhile" Bible or "Once-in-a-Blue-Moon" Bible.
Reality Check : Do You Really Love God & Neighbor?
Monday, 22 April 2013 00:00
This is one of the most humbling things I have read in a long while. As I started to read, I immediately felt compelled to pray, “Lord, make this true of me! Forgive me and change me that I might truly love you, and love others!” Take two minutes and read the following passage from Jerry Bridges and be humbled before God.
"On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:40)
Have you thought about what it means to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37, NIV)?
Here are a few obvious aspects: You seek fellowship with Him and long to gaze upon His beauty (Psalm 27:4). You rejoice in meditating on His Word and rise early to pray (Psalm 119:97; Mark 1:35). You always delight to do His will (Psalm 40:8). A regard for His glory governs and motivates everything you do (1 Corinthians 10:31) - eating and drinking, working and playing, buying and selling, reading and speaking, even driving. You're never discouraged or frustrated by adverse circumstances because you're confident God is working all things together for your good (Romans 8:28). You're always content because you know He'll never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
Still Standing! 19th Century Missionary House in Phrae, Thailand
Saturday, 20 April 2013 19:39
While searching for something else, I recently stumbled across a Thai newspaper article announcing the discovery of a 19th century wooden house in Phrae, Thailand, that was the original residence of the first missionaries who arrived there in the 1890s. The Thai headline expressed my feelings exactly: "Shock! Wooden Missionary House in Phrae - over 100 years old!" And the house is in good shape too! I was totally fascinated by the modern photos of the type of house that I had only previously seen in small, grainy, black-and-white photos in Thai church history books and missionary biographies. I thought for sure that such residences were long gone but to find one still standing is simply fantastic. I was immediately stuck that the design of this house is extremely similar to old pictures I’ve seen of those in Chiang Mai and Petchburi.
Here is the lead photo from the newspaper article showing the house in Phrae. The whole article (in Thai) with more photos can be found here.
New eBook: “Daniel McGilvary: Pioneer Missionary to Northern Thailand”
Monday, 01 April 2013 21:45
I am not a big fiction reader, but I love biographies. Especially missionary biographies. Inspiring stories. Spiritual wisdom. Exotic locations. Missionary biographies have it all. About 10 years ago, I began reading the massive autobiography of Daniel McGilvary, titled, “A Half Century Among the Siamese and Lao.” It was a fascinating read, although at 400+ pages, it took me a while to get through.
McGilvary had a fascinating life and ministry. In 1867, he arrived in Northern Thailand where there was not a single Christian believer. But in the 40 years that followed, he saw the church there grow from zero to over four thousand believers at the time of his death in 1911. How did that happen? What did he do? How did God use him and circumstances to bring about such a great harvest? To answer those questions, I've written a mini-biography of this great 19th century servant of Christ.
“Daniel McGilvary: Pioneer Missionary to Northern Thailand” is now available for $0.99 for Kindle and other eReaders, and $3.99 in the print edition. Whether you are out on the mission field or serving the Lord closer to home, I think you’ll find this mini-biography to be both encouraging and inspiring.
To get your copy, head over to the Amazon Kindle Store, or follow any of these links:
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