a bIT OF OUR sTORY...

Education and Ministry Experience

Michael and Katie have served Christ in cross-cultural ministry since 1975 in various places:

1975-1977 (Canada): House parents for First-Nations secondary school students.
1980-1982 (Indonesia): Bible studies for Javanese villagers and Chinese students.
1983-1984 (Europe & USA): Leading short-term ministry teams and teaching in Bible college.
1985-1995 (Singapore): Pastoral ministry; training Asian cross-cultural workers.
1995-2000 (Los Angeles, USA): Katie earned her M.A. and Michael earned his Ph.D.
2000-2008 (across Asia): Overseeing cross-cultural workers serving in multiple countries in Asia.
2010 -2019 (East Asia): Leading J-Mentors groups for God's servants in restricted contexts.
2019-Present (Southeast Asia): Leading J-Mentors groups, both in-person and online.

My Battle with Cancer: Longing to Know Jesus Better

I (Michael) battled cancer (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma) for 5 years, from 1998-2003. During this time I underwent 12 types of chemo and two Stem Cell Transplants.

The first transplant failed after 9 months. The cancer returned.

The second transplant using my brother’s stem cells finally defeated the cancer.

During those years, the future was so dark. I did not know if I would celebrate the next birthdays of my four sons or another anniversary with Katie. I had to cling to Jesus, just to survive another day. Even so, God’s Spirit used cancer to take me steadily deeper in my intimacy with Christ.

Yearning to know Jesus better, I began rereading the Gospels. But they seemed all too familiar. I wondered if my modern “glasses” (assumptions) were domesticating Jesus, preventing me from seeing Him as He truly is.

My cross-cultural experience and education made me very aware of how subtle cultural ques--full of meaning--can easily be missed by cultural outsiders.

Superficial familiarity with Jesus' original cultural context made me wonder if I was missing the point in some of the Gospel stories.

I longed to see Jesus through first-century Jewish eyes.

"Please Heal Me, or Take Me Home"

In the second transplant, doctors once again used high dose chemo to destroy my bone marrow and old immune system, taking me to the edge of death. With no immune system, even a simple cold could kill me. I was isolated in a hospital room for one month, seen only by my wife and the medical staff.

I had already suffered chemo for 5 years. I was extremely weak and weary. At the lowest point in that month of isolation I moaned:

“Lord, I can’t take anymore. Please, either heal me, or take me Home.”

Later I learned that my brother’s stem cells took root at that very time, generating new bone marrow, new blood cells and an entirely new immune system which finally defeated the cancer.

Two DNA and the Birth of the Vision for J-Mentors

Now I have two DNA: my brother’s DNA and my own DNA!

My brother’s blood saved me, but I had to (almost) die in the process! I thank God for medical science. Through it He gave me new life.

My treatment at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, DC took six months. I needed another six months to fully recover.

God used cancer to plough open the ground of my heart and to plant the seed of the vision for J-Mentors.

As I recovered, I began to explore: What would a first-century Jew instinctively know about their own history, politics, religion, economy, geography and culture? How would they perceive Jesus’ words and actions?

Contemplating Jesus-in-context was like moving from black-and-white TV to color TV. Jesus became more and more vivid and amazing, repeatedly enlightening, challenging and inspiring me. I fell in love with Him in new and deeper ways.

Then in 2005, He gave us the vision to mentor others through the life of Jesus in light of His first-century context.

The vision for J-Mentors was born.