Every second vehicle cruising the streets of Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, is some form of public transport. T for Taxi or B for Bus. The taxis are small cars, the buses are 12-seat mini vans. We had two buses that we contacted each time we needed a ride during our November visit. I found particular encouragement from continuing a friendship with Kendrick from a previous visit and establishing a new friendship with Reginald. Both of these men, like many of the bus drivers in Vanuatu, are followers of Jesus.

I tried to encourage them both in the way that they interact with the typical white tourist from Australia. I wanted them to know that most of the Australians that they carry around are not Christians, and that they have an opportunity to share the gospel each time they have new passengers.

The cool thing is, I think they are already doing this. I pray they’ll do it all the more!

Reginald in particular seeks to tell tourists why Ni-Vans are a joyful people. He said that often tourists will say to him: “The people of Vanuatu are so happy, why is that?”

Reggie responds: “We are a joyful people because of Jesus. Jesus brings us joy. Jesus has changed us as a people.” And with reference to the initial response that the gospel had in Vanuatu, “Before Jesus came to this island… I eat you!”

Gold!

Both bus drivers had insights into the way that God has continued to work in their country. What an encouragement to hear and see the way that the gospel of Jesus has reconciled different tribes and islands within the nation of Vanuatu.

I’m praying for boldness for bus drivers with tourists and praying that Vanuatu would keep living out that reconciliation and not lose the gospel.

I’ve literally got to go and get on the plane for Schoolies in Vanuatu 2010. So this better be quick. Below is a summary of all my posts in reflections on the 2009 trip. It was a wonderful time. Stay tuned for some 2010 reflections soon! (Here’s promo vid)

• Don’t Waste Your Life Watching Television and Surfing The Internet
• Vanuatu vs. Fitness First
• Don’t Waste Your Life – MP3s from Vanuatu
• episode 16: new baby + Vanuatu + LOUD
• Beautiful People Part 1
• Beautiful People part 2
• Top 10 Books to Read in Your First Year out of School
• Jesus is Nambawan!
• You Will Be Eaten by Cannibals!
• Who are the Real Savages?
• The Danger of Christian Culture
• Theological Education and 21st Century Missionaries

This is the final post in the Vanuatu 09 reflection series. In the previous post, I suggested that one of the dangers in Vanuatu is that of Christianity becoming a cultural marker rather than personal relationship with Jesus. I suggested that the solution is that the gospel must be the daily for every generation of Christians.

There are lots of countries in a similar position. There was incredible gospel growth through Western missionaries sharing the gospel during the 1800′s and 1900′s. Many countries have become ‘Christian’. The key to guarding the gospel is having strong theological colleges where the gospel continues to be guarded and pastors continue to be equipped to preach it to each successive generation.

Along with Bible translation into indigenous languages, I think establishing and/or bolstering evangelical bible colleges is one of the most strategic missionary endeavours of the 21st Century.

Pastors need to be able to handle the scriptures, discern error and preach Jesus.

The Mormons are growing in the South Pacific. I had a pretty interesting conversation with a number of them in French (that’s another story!) last year. I reckon that the average pastor would know it in their gut that the Mormons were part of some cult, but they wouldn’t necessarily be able to articulate how their errors.

More could be said on this. Not now.

If you’re interested in partnering with evangelical theological colleges in the developing world, check out the fantastic work of Overseas Council.

I’ve noted in this Vanuatu series that it was a country that only 170 years ago was physically hostile to the gospel. While the Ni-Vanuatu people may have once been characterised by ‘savage’ behaviour, now they really are beautiful people.

In my opinion, Vanuatu is now in a potentially dangerous situation. The country is very Christian. The vast majority of people claim to be Christian. The government makes decisions based around a Biblical world view that seeks to promote godliness among its people. These are really cool things. But the danger now is complacency and Christianity merely becoming a cultural thing.

It’s the danger of Christian culture. This has happened throughout history in Christian countries. I think it happens even in smaller communities like Christian schools.

The danger is that being brought up in a Christian cultural context equates to being Christian. No longer do people necessarily see a personal belief in the Risen Saviour and an ongoing growth in godliness as part of what it means to be Christian.

Here’s the slippery slope:

• Generation 1: preaches the gospel
• Generation 2: assumes the gospel
• Generation 3: neglects the gospel
• Generation 4: denies the gospel

To avoid the danger of Christian culture, the preaching of the gospel must become our daily words to one another in EVERY generation. I’ve been praying for Vanuatu this past year that the gospel will continue to be preached to both Christians and non-Christians.

Not familiar with ‘the gospel’? It’s all about the King who SAVES and RULES: check it out!

Last November I went on a Mission trip to Vanuatu. I’ll be going again very very soon! I’ve had 4 almost finished blog posts waiting to be finished since the start of the year. I figured I should finish them before I go again!! READ THE FIRST 8 POSTS HERE.

Prior to gaining independence from Britain and France in 1980, Vanuatu was known as the New Hebrides. On November 20 1839, John Williams and James Harris, were the first Christians missionaries who sought to make Jesus known among the locals in the New Hebrides. Within moments of arriving, they were both killed and eaten by cannibals.

In the decades that followed, other missionaries ventured out to the New Hebrides seeking to proclaim Jesus to those perishing. Many were met with a response like the one that Williams and Harris received. But on some islands, the gospel bore much fruit with, in at least one case, the whole island professing faith in Jesus!

One of the missionaries who accepted the call to take the gospel to the New Hebrides was John G. Paton. He was a successful urban missionary in Glasgow. After hearing the plight of the people in the South Pacific, he was compelled to leave the comforts of his home city to travel to the other side of the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection to a people desperate to hear it. All this despite the real threat of being eaten by cannibals.

During 1858, in his first 6 months, Paton’s wife and new born son both died as a result of fever. This was the beginning of a treacherous 4 years on the island of Tanna. He met with opposition on so many fronts. People were violent in their opposition to the gospel. The weather conditions were harsh. And they were at the whim of shifty trade ship captains to move around islands.

Continue Reading…

Part 1 was all about beautiful people from Vanuatu. This second post is all about some beautiful people from Australia. Is the language ‘beautiful’ a bit gooey? Bare with me. Who are these beautiful people from Australia? The Schoolies. NOT the drunken Schoolies that congregate on the Gold Coast, but a beautiful bunch of 20 young men and women intent on being counter-cultural in their end-of-school celebration.

These beautiful young adults were gathered from all over NSW as part of the Scripture Union Schoolies in Vanuatu trip. Bruce Boyle, Ali OpdeVeigh and their SU team did a great job in leading the trip. Following are three ways that I was impressed by this extraordinary group of beautiful people.

1) Expression of God-given gifts

At the start of our time in Vanuatu, I ran a training session on the nature of our ministry amongst the Nivan people: Encouragise; Empathise; Evangelise. (Downloadable from here). Let’s be honest. They really didn’t need much of an encouragement! God has clearly gifted each of these young men and women. They were constant in their encouragement of the local believers to keep trusting Jesus. When we visited the hospital, many Schoolies again showed an incredible ability to empathise, listen and pray. Likewise, they were bold in making the most of evangelistic conversation. It’s beautiful to see young men and women joyfully using – and discovering – their God-given gifts.

2) Love for Jesus and the Scriptures

I’ve been on 50+ youth camps in the last 10 or so years and probably spoken on 20+ of them. Of all those camps, this one was unique in the amount of quality time in the Bible. The Schoolies took reading and studying the bible with great seriousness. Our series, Don’t Waste Your Life, was a helpful platform to think about living life with eternity in mind. It was beautiful to look out on the lawn at random times of the day and see Schoolies scattered around under trees reading and meditating on the Bible. Then at other times to hear many of them grappling with big questions about God, Jesus and life. We hit on many of the big issues of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, and it was a delight to see them willingly submitting to the authority of the Bible. Finishing school is a significant time of life, I’m confident that, under God, these young people are poised to make the most of their lives by growing in their love for Jesus.

3) Depth of Character

Teenagers aren’t expected to be godly. Society has low expectations on young people. My heart was warmed in seeing the way that these beautiful people are rebelling against these low expectations by living with great depth of character and maturity. (See this post for some links to great articles by the Harris brothers about Doing Hard Things). On our arrival back in Sydney their godliness was poignantly  illustrated. After the customs people confiscated half of our souvenirs, we walked past this massive TV. On the TV there was a news report. The volume was turned off, but the images and text on the screen said it all. It was a scene from Schoolies on the Gold Coast. Something like: “three times as many arrests, three times as many alcohol fuelled incidents, three times as many fights on the beach”. What a contrast! While the majority of their peers were living for themselves and this world, our Schoolies were living for the sake of others and with a view to eternity.

The gospel really does change people. I really love these young people and the way that God is shaping and moulding them to be more like Jesus. Who knows, of all those 50+ camps, this was probably my favourite!!

Did you arrive hear via searching for “schoolies” in google?? This blog post probably sounds bizarre. Check out this gear about Jesus – God could change your life!!