The Walled City

     When I first came to Hong Kong, I worked for St. Stephen's Society. Part of our work was in a place called the "Walled City." There is a book about Jackie Pullinger's work that she wrote called: "Chasing the Dragon." The book reads like a novel but is a real story. If I hadn't worked with this lady, I may have had a hard time believing that this story is real. 

    When I first started working there, one of the workers told me that people have to be partly crazy to want to do this kind of work. I was offended at the time, but thinking about it many years later, I can see why she would say that.

    My visit to Hong Kong was the first time I had ever left the USA. I landed in a city of 7 million people all stacked on top of each other. It felt like a big bee hive. Some people from St. Stephen's Society picked me up and took me to Hang Fook Camp. This was a place that was used to help drug addicts begin adjusting to real life.  I didn't sleep the first night. However, I'm not sure if it was jet lag or excitement about being in a new segment of my life.
     The next day, I was told to take 2 addicts and 2 older brothers as we called them to an island and pray for them to come off of drugs. And so my life as a missionary began.

 

     I don't work with this group any more, but it made an impact on my life.  I have come to respect the work that she does and enjoy the times when I run into those that have come out of her work.

 

Here is a video link to a documentary that was made the year we worked there.  It tells about the work that Jackie Pullinger and St. Stephen's Society do much better then I could.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itXkvGh1J0o

Why Would God Judge the World ?

   

      Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-2 that if we judge we will be judged back. What we sow is what we will reap back. Many times the church does this and then we are surprised when it comes back and hits us on the backside. We may see the effects on the nation we live in and blame it on unbelievers when the problem can often be linked to the Christians and their attitude towards those that don't believe in Jesus.

     1 Peter 4:17 says that judgement begins with the household of God. Why would God be judging the Church? From reading various passages in Scripture like the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, we see that God still has a standard for the church even though we are saved by grace.

     An interesting point is that the only church in Revelation that was not judged was the church that loved. When believers can look past the sin in peoples' lives and take the love of God to unbelievers, the impact will be dramatic and life changing. There are different ministries in the world today that are bringing many people to the Lord through simply bringing God's love. Many Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus have become Christians because missionaries just loved on these people.

     So is there a time when it is alright to recognize issues as being not right? In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 Paul said we are not to keep company with those who are in the church who are fornicators, or covetous, or extortioners, idolaters, railers (people that are, by habit, abusive or slanderous in the way that they speak), and drunkards. Other passages of the Bible mention other sinful habits that fit into this list. We are not even supposed to eat or spend time with people like that. This is a tough passage.

      I want to say that I believe these behaviors are fruit of wounding, and that some Christians have weakness in these areas based on past hurts. Unfortunately, the church often does not know how to minister freedom. The Body of Christ also does not always offer understanding and compassion to those desiring to change. Transformation takes time and sanctification is a process. The heart is more important than outward behavior - and it is those who are unwilling to seek help and justifying their sin but believe themselves to be Christian that we are told to distance ourselves from. On the other hand, verse 12-13 says we are not to judge those outside of the church but leave those outside for God to judge. 

     Why was Sodom judged ? I used to think that it was because of the sexual sin. When the angels went to check out the city, scripture records that all the men in the city wanted to rape the angels. But Ezekiel 16:49-50 said that that main issues were that the people had plenty to eat, a lot of free time, and they did not help the poor in a way to get them out of poverty. So God destroyed them. Now I do want to clarify that I believe sexual sin is a byproduct of the other problems.

      We need to quit thinking that the government is supposed to fix problems. Pain in this world provides opportunity to show God's care. There is much the church can do to practically show the love of God and meet the needs of others. One example is in the area of poverty: People in the church should be doing things to train others in types of work that will help them become financially independent.

      So if judgment starts with the household of God where does this leave us ? As a church we need to quit judging those outside of the church. This does not mean that we stop noticing that there is sin in the world. Rather we need to recognize that it is God's loving kindness through us that will change people not our judgments. We need to use some of that free time we all have to just love on people so they will know the love of Jesus.



Feel free to leave me an e-mail or a comment. I want to know what you think.

 

My Journey to Hong Kong

Downtown Hong Kong

Not too long after I became a Christian I wanted to become a missionary to Africa. I thought Africa because that’s where I thought all missionaries went. Sometime after I became a Christian, God gave me my first vision -  at least the first one that I knew was from Him. After having the vision I knew I was supposed to come to Hong Kong. Hong Kong was one of the last places on earth that I would have picked to be a missionary. I didn’t even know where it was. I was pretty normal for my circle, because many of the people that know me, after my family moved here, thought we were living in Japan. So for all of you who don’t know where it is, Hong Kong is in the most southern part of China.

I had a friend that worked for the Lancaster Vineyard Church. He was a caretaker for a ranch where they trained missionaries. I called him and told him that God had told me to go to Hong Kong. He knew a person named Jackie Pullenger who was (and is) a missionary in Hong Kong. He helped connect us with her.  After two years, they contacted me and asked me to come and check out the work to see if I thought our family could work there. After another two years they asked us to come and work with them.

Jackie Pullenger’s ministry, St. Stephens asked us to receive missionary training through another ministry in Los Angeles before coming to Hong Kong. So I quit my job. My family and I went through a summer training with a group called “Servants Among the Poor” in downtown LA known as Skid Row. This is an area full of drug dealers, drug addicts, prostitutes, alcoholics. and many homeless who slept in the streets or in abandoned cars.  We learned how to reach out and love the people who lived here. We were some of the few white people in the area. This experience greatly reduced our culture shock when we moved to Hong Kong.

When I dreamed of being a missionary I always thought that I would live in some remote village somewhere. Instead, I ended up living in a city of 7 million people with a high population density –all living on top of each other. My family has worked with drug addicts, street kids, troubled youth, and the working poor. Some of the troubled youth have been in the Chinese mafia (Triads). Over the years, we have spent much of our time praying for those that have been emotionally damaged and developing inner healing materials appropriate for Hong Kong. In addition discipleship materials, and literature that helps promote Biblical literacy as a focus. We have also put out a Bible to help people learn to read and use the Bible in Cantonese.

Some of my vision includes

Developing an online course to teach about moving in the spiritual gifts.

Opening a center where the poorer people can come and receive inner healing and counseling.

Hosting a school where people can learn what their gifts are and be equipped in those gifts.

Equipping Christians all over the world to grow into the callings that God has called them to.

Encouraging church leaders to see all of their people as gifted and equip them to become what God created them to be.

Living Like The Seventy Sent Out

 

     At one time Jesus sent out a group of seventy men to preach and demonstrate the Kingdom of God. One of the accounts is in Luke 10 but the story is also accounted in the other gospels. Jesus told them not to take anything with them, no money, food, clothing except for what they wore and no extra shoes. They were to experience God providing for them. When they came back they had a lot of great stories and were excited to have seen what God did in their lives.

      There are some people in today's world that God tells to live this way in one form or another. There are missionaries and church workers I know that just trust God for what they need although they may have some support from their home church. On the mission field, these missionaries are called "Faith Missionaries." People have asked me how we finance our missionary work and I have told them we live by faith. Some understand what we are trying to say but others will respond with "we live by faith too." I agree that if you have a normal life, job, paycheck, etc ... and that is what Jesus has led you to do, you are living by faith in a broad, general sense. But when I'm talking about living by faith as "Faith Missionaries", I am talking about those that trust God to put it on some one's heart at the right time to donate to the work they are doing to build the Kingdom.

     My wife and I, together with our two daughters have been living as faith missionaries for 22 years. We get about one fourth of what we need from donations each month and then trust God to provide in whatever manner he chooses for the rest. We have found out that when God wants people to live like this that He does provide at least their basic needs. In the last 22 years, there have been four specific seasons that have been more difficult and challenging in terms of our provision but God has gotten us through it.

     Each season has been different. One season we found eggs for a very cheap price if we bought a carton of 30 eggs at a time, so that was our sole source of protein. Sometimes people would ask us to come over and would bring food for us not knowing we didn't have money to buy food. We ate so many eggs that for awhile after we were through that difficulty, some members of my family no longer liked eggs. Other seasons we found chicken really cheap and ate chicken most of the time. 

          It has been an interesting and sometimes very exciting life.  There are times when it has been very stretching and a few times we have had to let people know we have a need but God has been faithful to take care of us.

     Let me know what you think. Leave me an email or a comment. If you have a prayer request leave me an email and I will pray for you.

Bruce Isom