Meetings and More Meetings

 

1984 - Meeting with some of the Irrigation
Project workers in Chiang Mai

The work side of life in Chiang Mai involved a lot of meetings and I do mean a LOT of meetings! The Baptist mission was largely self-governing in the 1980s through the TBMF (Thailand Baptist Missionary Fellowship). At the time, the TBMF was composed of American Baptist, Swedish Baptist and Australian Baptist missionaries and to guide the work, guide relationships and help missionaries, there were a number of committees formed. And, all committees begat meetings.

The main committee that had a governing role of TBMF was called the Reference Committee, or Ref Comm for short. I guess it got the name as any decision that no person or group could make on their own was “referred” to the Ref Comm. It was already controversial as we came on the scene. The guiding philosophy within the TBMF was that the mission groups were there to assist and serve self-governing, independent churches like the Thailand Karen Baptist Convention, Lahu Baptists, etc. But, here was the Ref Comm composed of the same missionaries working with the various churches that had veto power over the desires of the Thailand based churches. Particularly when mission money was denied to the Thai churches, some relationships got strained. Eventually, the Ref Comm was dissolved, but it was alive and well during our early time in Thailand.

1984 +/- TBMF Mission Conference Weiner Roast

Then there were other committees. To plan the TBMF annual conference, there was the aptly named Conference Planning Committee. Then there was a Language and Orientation Committee that looked after new missionaries. TBMF also helped govern the Union Language School through a committee as well as helped oversee the Kwai River Christian Hospital via a committee. Thai Tribal Crafts, the Bangkok Christian Guest House, the CUHT, the Ecumenical office of the CCT, various schools started by the mission groups and each of the Thailand based church organizations also all had committees and boards to help govern the work they were doing and missionaries would be assigned to be on those committees and boards and were obligated to attend the associated meetings.

Big Meetings meant big dinners

We were moving into an era of “project” based work so of course each project would also have a committee. Like a lot of things in life, “it was complicated”. In our early days in Chiang Mai, I was on the Conference Planning Committee even though I don’t think I had seen a conference as yet. I’m sure Marcia was on a committee or two as well. We were also meeting with our Karen Language teacher regularly, we’d “meet” with our neighbors, the Facchinis, regularly to “talk shop”, Marcia was meeting her language students at the Lahu and Karen hostels, we had meetings with the Irrigation Project staff, there were weekly mission prayer meetings, weekly worship with the Northen Baptist Office staff and visitors, Karen language church services, English language services, meetings out in villages to discuss irrigation projects, etc.

Meetings might go well into the night

That there were so many meetings wasn’t really a surprise. After all, missions is people based and the
goal for the mission was to be involved in work that had genuine interest, buy – in and involvement of the people that would benefit. Dictatorships might be efficient, but they soon alienate the people and build resentment. As missionaries, we aimed to guide, advise and maybe convince, but not dictate.

So our early days in Chiang Mai consisted of studying the Karen language, traveling out to villages for meetings, trainings, larger gatherings or irrigation projects, mixed in with an occasional trip to Bangkok for mission related meetings. There were also frequent meetings of all kinds in Chiang Mai itself. If we were at home, letter writing kept us busy until the next meeting or trip came up.