This paper intends to build a strong case for us involve in ICF to immerse ourselves in our surrounding culture and current situation in Indonesia by constantly doing discovery trips. This paper contains three main sections: Discovery Trips in the Bible, current Indonesia situations, and the propose action plans.
Discovery Trips in the Bible
Discovery trips are a more descriptive and positive term for the word to spy, search, scrutinize, and inquire described in the bible. Specifically, this paper will discuss the three main functions of discovery trips observed in the Biblical text.
Discovery Trip for Gathering Information
The word to spy and search were used in Numbers 13:2. In Numbers 13:2, the Lord asked Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which the Lord has given to the people of Israel. To spy was translated from the Hebrew word toor, where we got the word tour from. This word was commonly used at the time as a verb explaining the activity of spies.
A spy is typically sent to find out specific information about the enemy. This information will be shared to believer living in exile or distant land. In Numbers 13, Moses sent 12 capable men, each was leader among their tribes, to gather 3 types of information: 1) the character, 2) the richness, and 3) the military stronghold of their enemies.
These spies reported truthful information about the character and the military conditions of their enemies. Numbers 13:28 recorded that the spies described the people living in the land as strong. The cities were fortified and very large. However, these spies lied about the richness of the land. Numbers 13:32 quoted these men saying that, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.” These spies lied in their report that land was so barren and unfruitful that it did not produce enough food sufficient for the inhabitants. The inhabitants, in contrary to the report, were strong and the land was flowing with milk and honey. These spies also did not have trust in God their deliverer. They forgot that God has given them the land and nothing can stand against their God for He is the creator of all things. Even the giants Nephilim would not have chance if God were in their side.
The untruthful information reported about the richness of the land by these 10 spies stemmed from their lack of faith. As a consequence, the whole generation of Israelites was wiped out and the richness of the land was experienced 40 years later. The consequences of their faithlessness should serve as a strong reminder for us that God-given tasks will be too overwhelming for us to accomplish unless He is with us.
Moreover, the reports we brought back from discovery trip have to be truthful and described in the light of God’s promises. The facts have to describe the situation precisely. For this reason, Moses asked his spies to bring back the fruits of the land. These facts should be interpreted in a way that gives us angle to participate in God’s redemptive plan because we are His primary agents in this world.
Discovery Trip for Planning Actions
Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem for a single purpose that was to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. However, he did not know the extent of the destruction to the people of Israel nor the level of the damage of the wall. He finally understood what Hanani was saying about the trouble and the shame experienced by God’s people living in Jerusalem. Nehemiah understanding became complete as he inspected the wall by himself during the night after spending 3 days with the local leaders.
After the inspection, Nehemiah said that, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned.” To put his understanding the context, one can turn to the book of Ezra that described the sociological condition in more details. Ezra described how much the Israelites need for a security and reform. With the crumbling of Jerusalem wall, the city was defenseless and the God’s people needed to retain security by intermarrying with the local tribes. This intermarrying of God’s people led them to idolatry. Ezra was charged by God to lead a reformation and rededication of the Israel people. Without the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall, the reformation would not have been succeeded and the temple of God would not have been build.
The word that was used to describe Nehemiah efforts in inspecting carefully and personally the crumbling wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:15) came from the Hebrews word of Shabar. This word is translated to English word to scrutinize. Nehemiah needed to inspect the wall carefully before he could distribute the rebuilding task appropriately.
The story of Nehemiah has been an inspiration for us in ICF and FICA because the similarities in the circumstances. Nehemiah was called by God when he was living in a foreign land to participate in God’s redemptive plans of his homeland. God opened his heart to the suffering of his brethrens and gave him resources to accomplish the task. We, in ICF and FICA, had also been given this holy burden and resources to alleviate the suffering in Indonesia. We need to follow Nehemiah example to scrutinize Indonesia to get fully understand the trouble we are in and where the ruins and gates to be rebuild.
Discovery Trip for Transformation
Jesus also did discovery trips. Luke 2:46, Jesus is described listening intensely to the teachers. These teachers were not regular knowledgeable persons. They hold an equivalent of doctorate degree in today’s world. In other instances, Jesus was described going to the Lord’s temple often and talking to regular people. Even with His wisdom and knowledge, Jesus had to wait for 30 years before he started His ministry.
The influence of the culture, we observed on Jesus’ teachings, is the results of His frequent discovery trips. As a result, His teachings were not only healed a broken man but also reformed the depraved culture. For example, when Jesus healed a blind man by placing a mud in the man’s eyes and asked him to wash them in the pool of Siloam (John 9:1-12). Jesus could have just said the word and the man would be healed and both Jesus and the blind would not be in trouble. However, Jesus deliberately disobeyed the Sabbath and also made the blind man to rebel against the established Sabbath law to do this miracle. The Pharisees had opened the investigation upon this man not because of his healing but because of his rebellion against the Sabbath law.
Jesus clearly was very in tune with the society. As a result of His discovery trip, He knew precisely what were the root causes of the misery in his society both individually and culturally. Individually, He wants to reveal to us the greatest human mystery that has been hidden for ages and generations. He wants to open our eyes that we could be reconciled with our creator (Colossians 1:25). Later in John 9:35, Jesus sought the blind man again to complete His healing miracle. He asked whether the blind man believe in Him as the His Lord and savior. Without any hesitation, the blind man believed although he knew the persecution laid ahead of him. Culturally, Jesus wanted to open the eyes of the society. This blind man became a beggar because of the sins of the society that lack of compassion but quick to judge.
Stages of Discovery Trips
Discovery trips promoted by FICA and ICF Austin, Columbus, Madison, and Purdue consist of three stages. The first stage is to help ICF understand that we are created as a social being and are charged as God’s agents of transformation. As a social being, we are both the object and subject of the culture. Our worldview are influenced and bonded by our culture. Only after we believe that God can open our eyes, and then we can start breaking this bondage and transforming people lives and culture. The first stage of our discovery trip program tries to mimic what Moses had done that were to gather information and to get personal experience of the surrounding culture outside our comfort zone into the enemy territory.
The second stage of discovery trip has the objective to provide detail planning of how we going to transform a specific culture. Like Nehemiah, we need to be certain of our calling or vocation. The third stage of discovery trip is designed to execute plans. Just like Jesus, we should deny our selves, pick up the cross daily, and become God’s transformation agents in this last stage.
All these three stages of discovery trips are centered and initiated by our deep concerns of Indonesia. The next part of this paper will describe the current situations in Indonesia.
Current Situations in Indonesia
The future is bleak for Christians in Indonesia. The Muslims are becoming more radical and our churches are unwilling to bear the cross. The poverty and immorality are common. Nothing short of miracle is needed to reform the church to transform the people and the nation. The only hope for Christians and Indonesians is in Jesus. Our hope as Christians is rooted in our faith in the power of God and in the eventual return of Jesus our king. On that day, the grace of the Lord Jesus will be shared and reflected into all His creation.
Without taking into account the supernatural dimension of the current situation, we will be overwhelmed like those 10 spies sent by Moses. We will be looking for retreating plan rather than engaging plan. Instead of breaking down the enemy stronghold and painting our target, we will become coward and selfish. Instead of exercising our resources and capabilities, we will be wasting our spiritual gifts and chances to contribute in God’s works.
The current situations in Indonesia, therefore, should be presented in light of God transformation story that history of the human race and universe has a beginning and an ending. The history begins with His creation acts (Genesis 1:1), progresses through time, and ends with His grace flowing to all His creation (Revelation 22:11). There are at least four implications when one views history as a linear progression of time: 1) time is a valuable commodity for it can not be returned, 2) everybody has a purpose, 3) all our sufferings will eventually come to an end, and 4) these sufferings will not be in vain. These four implications should allow us to boast our Godly ambitions even in midst of our weaknesses in the present time. For the history of human kind is His (God)-story of the glorious redemption and consummation.
We should remind ourselves that although the beginning and the end of human history is fixed, what happens in the middle is not fixed. God works directly and indirectly through us to direct the course of history. However, the history is not directed only by God, Satan also works to change the history. The Bible however said that God will eventually had to hid His face and let the human decay accelerate. At this point, the human history will eventually reach the point of no return free falling to the abyss.
We believe that we have not reached that point yet. We believe that God still shows mercy to His creation through us His church. We can see the hand of God works in the evolution of political institutions throughout the world.
Example of God interventions in human history: Political Institutions
Political institution or institution that governs people’s public conducts was first found in the Bible in Genesis 4. In Genesis 4 the Bible tells a story on how God delivered judgment against Cain after he killed his brother. God acted as the government that had two primary functions: punish sin and promote justice. God also set the legislation or the law, executes the punishments, and maintains justice and order.
At that time, God moral law and decree was the accepted legislation. Cain punishment for killing Abel was to be driven out from the ground and to be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. One might think this punishment was unfair for Cain has taken the life of Abel. Looking at God’s perspective Cain punishment was fair because he would not be permitted to work and essentially driven from God’s sight.
We can weigh in the burden Cain has to shoulder for this punishment in Genesis 4:13, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden.”
God also preserved justice throughout his deliberation in Cain case. He put a mark on Cain so that no body would harm him. For, many people would attack Cain and he would have been killed by the descendents of Nephilim.
Overtime, man wants to rule themselves and not by God. Israel elected Saul as their first king. He reigned about 3500 years ago for 40 years. King and his officials had the authority to punish everybody disobeying God’s moral laws. Under the kingship of Saul, the function of government was expanded to also include maintaining national defense (against the Philistine), garner national pride (handsome and strong man as king), and provide some public service such as organizing public worship. With these expanded functions, the king became the chief military commander, executor, and tax collector.
Israel was in very dark moment under the kingship of Saul. God intervened by installing David as Saul replacement. Although David made a lot of mistake, Israel fortunes were growing until the Salomon era.
The modern era of political institutions begins in Greece. With the vast and diverse subjects, Greece kings and elites had to expand the government so that order can be maintained (punishing sins, promoting justice), national defense and pride, along with the much expanded and more complex public service. The government administration became a profession for people wanting to dedicate their lives serving the public. Professional soldiers were also instituted during this period to provide national defense and pride.
God use the Roman Empire effectively. The political and economic stability, the infrastructures such as the road system, and the common language used in the entire roman world had helped the spread of the gospel to the very end of the earth. The gospel spread to the barbaric world in the Europe and crossed the ocean to the US and the rest of the world.
Soon the people realized that they might be sacrificing too much of their rights for the protections and services offered by the king and political elites. Magna-charta was then instituted that essentially shifted the power to decide equity from the king to the people. The people hold the power to decide what is fair, how much tax, and what are the right and wrong public actions. The people gained this power through their voting rights. This political institution is known as democratic political institution.
Today, democracy is believed as the best model for political institution because it takes accounts everybody’s interest. However, a pure democratic system merely a social contract with the government acting as the deal maker and debt collector. Democratic system allows huge opening for the society to eventually bow down to the sinful side of human nature. Since the political system is a social contract, defining the rights can be trespassed and the obligations to be due, the people can allow legislations diametrically oppose to God’s moral law with enough vote.
Because of this intrinsic nature of the democratic system, Christians has no other option beside to engage in the political process and public life. With the confidence in God’s promise and according to our calling, we should not retreat from the public space. Instead we need to engage and subdue it for the glory of God.
At the end of the age, the direct rule of God is restored. God’s moral law will serve again as our fundamental law. The government consists of angels and heavenly creatures. We will be reconciled with God, toil in the New Jerusalem, worship and enjoying the presence of God all time.