I thank God that I have this opportunity to serve him by sharing with you today. What I share today are some of the experiences we have had in churches in our denomination, the Church of the Grace of God3. These are not theoretical ideas I have come to teach. I want to share what God is doing in our churches.
Today I come to you to share about Jesus coming to Isaan4. I will be speaking in Isaan and for those of you who are from central Thailand who can't understand it I would ask you to find a translator in someone sitting next to you. I don't speak Isaan simply because I want to preserve a language. I am not one of those people who want to be traditional or save cultures just to keep them going. No, I speak to you in this language because it is the best way to communicate to you, my fellow Isaan brothers and sisters.
I want to tell you from the very outset that there is no one correct way to share the good news or to plant churches in Isaan. We must use what best applies to our own particular situation. People come with two heads (two ways of thinking): one is the traditionalist. This type cannot change. They think that what has been done one way must continue to be done that way. There is no possibility of change and no growth. The second type is the progressive thinker, the new thinker. This type of person accepts that the world is changing and can make accommodations for change. Cultures change and our churches must adapt to those changes. We can't be traditionalists and expect our churches to grow. If we do not change our churches will die. We need to know how to adapt and apply new things to our churches.
The first thing I would like you to understand today is the absolute necessity to have Jesus be reborn into the local culture5. Jesus as a central Thai, a northern Thai, a southern Thai, an eastern Thai, or an Isaan person. Beloved, if Jesus were to be born here in Khon Kaen6, what would he eat? Would he eat bread? No! Jesus would eat whatever the local people ate. What is the staple of life for Isaan people? Sticky rice! If a meal goes by and there isn't sticky rice, well… I think of when I went to America. I really missed our sticky rice. Their food is good there but deep down in my brain I still missed sticky rice. I just wanted to roll up rice, even just a little. Why? Because I've always eaten sticky rice! So if Jesus was born here in Khon Kaen I am convinced he would eat sticky rice. And Jesus would lom7 too! He would be the best kaen8 player around! He would be totally incarnated into the culture. So the first thing for us to understand is that Jesus needs to become one with the local culture. If we are in Khon Kaen, in Isaan, Jesus needs to be Isaan. Whatever culture we are in Jesus needs to be reborn there.
Take a look at Buddhism. A lot of people are convinced that Buddha was born in our country of Thailand. They firmly believe it! If we notice how Chinese people make their Buddha images what do they look like? They have this big growth out of the front like I do - great big bellies! The images look like the Chinese. If Indians make images they do it another way that looks like them. If Thais make them they look like something else altogether.
So if Jesus were to be born in Khon Kaen, in Isaan, he would take on the look of that culture. I would like to remind us of a saying by our present monarch9, "The preservation of culture is the preservation of the whole country." If there is no culture what happens to the country? It can't survive. A nation survives based on its culture.
I just came back from a trip to Taiwan. There were two people sitting next to me. I looked at them. They looked at me. I smiled at them. They smiled back at me. Finally I asked (speaking in Isaan), "Where are you from?" since I knew from looking at them they were Isaan. "Nong Bua Lomphu10, Father11", they answered. We had looked at each other and started to figure each other out but it wasn't until we spoke that we began to understand each other. Isaan people have a problem this way. They don't want to admit that they are northeastern Thai.
Let me share another story. Our group started a ministry in Bangkok to Isaan people working in the city. We sent one of our group down there, Pastor Inchai, and for six months nothing happened. No one spoke Isaan - only central Thai. I told Inchai - since he is a good musician - take your kaen outside and play it up and down the street for awhile. So he did. Inchai took his kaen outside and started playing. And people starting coming! They trailed after him as he walked along, asking, "Where are from? Where are you staying? Where's your place?" They started talking in Lao12! They started talking to him and to each other - "Oh, I'm from Khon Kaen, how about you?" Before that they would only speak Thai but once they heard the sound of the kaen they opened up. You see, language shows from which group you come. For us Isaan people the sound of the kaen is deep in our bones. It is the sound of our people.
That is what we want Jesus to be - one of us. Thank God that today in Bangkok there are 70 people coming together for worship in that location. We need to use the local culture to bring Jesus in. Jesus needs to ride the kaen into Isaan people's hearts. When I was a young believer I was taught to sing translated hymns which I didn't understand at all. They didn't make sense to me. The message needs to come in a way people can understand it. When we use the local musical forms people hear it and say, "OH! That's who Jesus is! That's what it's all about. I'm interested!" This is what is important - that Jesus be reborn in the culture - in the best things of the culture. The best and most beautiful things, understand - not reborn in the wrong things. For example, idolatry, there is no room for that in Christ. And not reborn in drunkenness so that dog's lick your lips - no! We don't want the bad things we want the best!
Lots of churches complain of how difficult it is for them to bring people to Christ. We don't have that problem because we don't do it. We don't take people to Christ - we bring Christ to people13. We don't have a problem in our churches of people not wanting to come to Christ or not understanding Christ. Christ is being reborn in ways they can clearly understand him. The problem in our churches is people who make a decision to follow Christ and then don't grow. We can't help people grow fast enough. Spiritual maturity is important. Growing in the word is necessary for the growth of the church. Growth of the Christians comes from understanding. I would like to demonstrate again, how Jesus can be reborn using the sounds of Isaan. Brothers and sisters we worship with Isaan music in our churches. Some people hear it and say, "I want to send my whole family to study that way of worship." Fine, bring 'em on. "Those Christians dance nicely!" people say. Worship in this way brings glory to God and outsiders understand it easily.
Some foreign ways used in the church are very difficult for Thai people to understand. When they see people raising their hands and shouting "Hallelujah!" they just don't know what to think. When they see the way we worship (using Isaan traditions) they say, "Oh, those people are worshipping God!" It has clear meaning to them. I would like you to understand that we do the things we do for only one reason - to clearly communicate the meaning of the gospel. We do not do it to preserve cultural traditions. We bring Jesus into those traditional forms so people can understand him.
Isaan people have an inferiority complex. Other regions taunt us with, "Sticky rice eaters, bosom-buddies, who eat rotten fish.14" Isaan people hear that and are embarrassed. They don't want to talk about being Isaan. But thank God! Did you know that all the famous singers in Thailand are from Isaan? Other singers are not nearly as famous as the Isaan singers. It's the same in Bangkok. If I speak Isaan in Bangkok I'm suddenly famous. Why? Because all the Isaan people are working there and they flock around me!
I would like to see the good news of Jesus spread to plant churches in all of the regions of Thailand. In order for that to happen we need to allow Jesus to be reborn in each of those regions. If Jesus was to be reborn in Nakorn Sawan province15 what would he eat? White rice - not sticky rice. It just depends on the local culture. We want people to be able to see our worship and know, "Those people are worshipping God."
Do you realize just how much of Christianity is farang-style16 now in Thailand? If you want to see what an American church looks like it is not difficult. Put on a necktie and I will take you. You don't have to pay the plane fare. I went to America and saw their worship and thought, "This is just like our churches in the town of Udon." I'm not trying to say that the farang ways are not good. I just want to be able to clearly communicate the meaning to the local people.
We need to turn the world upside down. We want people to understand. Therefore Jesus must be reborn as an Isaan person. Not as a poor example either. If friends are drinking alcohol we might feel we have to do the same - NO! If they worship spirits we might feel we have to do as they do - NO! That is not what we're going to do.
Try saying this together with me, "Satoo!17" Say it again together, "SATOO!" "So be it" is the meaning. Satoo means "so be it". If you want to say "Amen" go ahead but I don't use that. Others outside (the church) are not used to hearing it. Which speaks clearest and best expresses meaning? If you want to give praise to God say, "Thanks be to God." It expresses meaning clearly.
In the past where did we look for help? The spirits. You need to understand, Isaan people like to mix religions together. Buddhism, Brahmanism, animism, spirits of the city, spirits of mother and father, all mixed together. So here comes teaching about Jesus and they just add him in there with all the others. If we just teach externals (religious practice) then Jesus is just one more along with all the rest. If we teach internals - focus on values, attitudes - then the spirits are taken out and replaced with Jesus Christ.
Heart values are extremely important. What is our normal heart value? Self-first. If we are a child of God we start to let God and others come first. Changes will happen. When values change from the inside then outside behavior changes. For example, wearing motorcycle helmets. In the past, if there were no police around our church leaders would leave the helmet in the basket of the motorcycle. When they saw the policemen ahead then they would put it on. The only reason they wore them was because they were afraid that the policemen would fine them. In reality, the helmet law18 is to protect us but they don't think about that. They just think of how uncomfortable it is to wear a helmet. They think only about what feels good. Once we are changed from the inside we will start to understand that there is a better reason to wear a helmet than just being afraid of a policeman's penalty. If we ask God daily to change us he will do it.
Endnotes:
1. This talk was first given as hour one of a four hour Seminar by Rev. Tongpan Phromedda at the Isaan Congress II, Khon Kaen, Thailand October 18, 2000
2. Rev. Tongpan Phrommedda is a native of northeast Thailand was born in Chaiyaphum province. At the time of this seminar he was the president of the Thailand Covenant Church with which he had worked for thirty years since its inception. He was sixty-one years of age (sixty is normal retirement age in Thailand). He had worked with other missionaries from other denominational groups previously. For more on his background work refer to his talk entitled "Missionaries in the Eyes of Isaan People." This talk was given in Isaan or the Lao language.
3. The Church of the Grace of God is the Thai name for the Thailand Covenant Church.
4. Isaan is the language spoken in northeast Thailand and is distinct from the central Thai language. It is closely related to the Lao language. The region of northeast Thailand and its people are also referred to by the same name, Isaan.
5. This teaching is based upon John 1:14.
6. Khon Kaen was the location of this seminar and is located in the middle of northeast Thailand.
7. Lom is the traditional Isaan form of singing ballads. A singer of lom songs is known as a Maw Lom.
8. The Kaen is the traditional bamboo reed instrument essential to all Isaan musical events.
9. His royal majesty Bhumiphol Adulyadet.
10. Nong Bua Lamphu is a province west of Udon Thani in the northeast region of Thailand.
11. Father here is used as a familial honorific rather than a religious title.
12. Amongst themselves the Isaan usually refer to each other and their language as Lao.
13. This is also based on John 1:14, the Word came and dwelt among us.
14. ????????????? ?????????????? ?????????
15. Nakorn Sawaan province is located in the upper part of central Thailand, home to central Thai people.
16. Farang is the Thai word for white foreigner.
17. ???? (Saa-too) is the Bali word used at the end of Buddhist prayers meaning, "So be it".
18. Thailand does have a helmet law however it is not consistently enforced.