THE NEWSLETTER OF IBTM
with Douglas Jacoby
29 October 2025
Good morning from England! We’re both back home.
Vicki has returned from her pilgrimage—a group of 88, organized by Robert Carrillo—on El Camino de Santiago Compostela (Spain). More on this in another newsletter. And I’m just back from Asia, brimming with news I’d like to share now, mainly about about my visit to Mongolia.
The presentation at Mongolia International University went swimmingly, even though after flying through the night (Manchester—Istanbul—Ulaanbaatar) I had to go directly from the airport to the university (without sleep)—because of snow-induced thick traffic. All the same, I had enough of my wits about me to speak intelligibly on the important topic of Science & Faith. 65 students and professors attended the talk.
That evening the local church had me speak on the topic of the early days of the London Church of Christ, 1982-1989. On Sunday I was asked to discuss the birth of HOPEww—along with a message on hope, from the book of Habakkuk. In addition, we enjoyed several fellowship times in small groups, where I addressed various topics.
The main church leaders and I spent 36 hours in a 4×4 as we headed south to the Gobi Desert and discussed scripture, church history, practical ministry, and science.
The preacher, Park Jungho, is trained in physics, although working full-time as a professor of computer science. His wife, Joy, is a professor of accounting. Both Koreans, they are fluent in Mongolian—no mean feat—and have clearly given their hearts to the church, taking a stand in a land where Buddhism and shamanism are strong.
Today I’ve also included a thoughtful article from friend and colleague in the UK teaching ministry Dr. Andrew Boakye. Andy is Professor of New Testament at Manchester University—about 90 minutes from our home in Lancashire. He’s also an astute observer of culture and current events. I hope Andy’s scholarship, eloquence, humanity, and refreshing honesty will move you, just as they have touched me.
Row 1: The capital’s first snow. On some mornings the temperature was -19º / My Mongolian friends suggested I dress for cold weather—excellent advice! / Zaisan Memorial / Statue of Chinggis Khaan, 1162-1227
Row 2: Turtle Rock, Gorkhi-Terelj National Park / Intense Ulaanbaatar traffic—it can take an hour to drive just 5-10 km / Cameli bactriani are hairier than their Middle Eastern & North African cousins, the more familiar Dromedaries / Traditional meets modern architecture
Row 3: Mongolian Cattle / The older buildings feature bright and happy colors / Hasty camel—they say they’re tasty, too. Many Mongol dishes are based on camel or horse milk / Mongolian sheep/goat-dog (50 kg)—with the thick fur and heavy bones required in such tough terrain
Row 4: Mixed herd, sheep & goats / Domestic horse; we also saw herds of wild horses (Dzungarian or Przewalski’s Horse) / A most curious creature—the Mongolian Corsac Fox / An unusually colored (blue-gray) animal / On our 9-hour drive to the desert, often on unimproved roads or no road at all, we often had to wait for livestock to cross
Row 5: This was my first time to see a two-humped camel. Mongolians savor the milk and meat of the camel / The eerie landscape reminds me of Iceland (show from window seat view, departure from UB) / Bactrian Camel, native to the steppes of Central Asia / On horseback, glacial canyon, with Babu (our driver)
Row 6: Wildlife abounds in Outer Mongolia. (Inner Mongolia is part of China) / Impromptu fellowship shot / Chinggis Khaan has 16 million living descendants / Mongolian Snow Leopard, a rare and endangered species
Row 7: Ulaanbaatar is the world’s coldest capital city (by average temperature) / The Khongor Sand Dunes extend for 100 km—yet compromise only 4% of the Gobi Desert (500,000 sq mi) / Stunning Yolyn Am, in the Gurvan Saikhan Mountains / With Jungho & Joy, church leaders (Ulaanbaatar, or UB, as everyone calls it)
UN-SILENCING THE VOICES: JESUS AND THE BEAUTIFUL HORROR OF SCRIPTURE, III
by Andrew Boakye PhD
Recently, a Christian nationalist pastor named Brian Sauvé was asked if black Christians would be welcomed into his church, to which he responded, “Black Christians yes! Black culture no”! He continued to suggest that “black culture” (a furiously problematic phrase in itself) was “evil, murderous, violent and bestial”.
He attempted to use statistics about violent crime, depravity in certain inner cities, the number of single parent families in black communities etc. peppered with typically sanctimonious rhetoric to legitimate his obtuse ideas. The flaws in his reasoning were foregrounded in the wave of criticism he received—I would add to this backlash by saying that he chose to freeze a particular moment of the history of black Americans and then make general comments.
One could easily freeze a moment in history - like the Third Reich, the Transatlantic slave trade, Apartheid South Africa, and make all sorts of generalisations about “white culture” (equally problematic)! These kinds of straw man arguments appear so wide of the mark, it is difficult to believe that their proponents do not have agendas other than sincere socio-political critique.
I raise this particular case to shed a spotlight on how “Christian” rhetoric is routinely weaponized.
iFAITH ASIA
On Saturday, through iFaith Asia, I was able to teach The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, along with Alan Zhang, a Canadian Chinese who works with the Seven Habits organization. Alan provided the original Stephen Covey framework, while I supplemented and illustrated with Scripture. The all-day program was very well received. I also taught a class on prayer (from the new book), another on campus ministry (from Campus Core), and preached on Sunday from the Apocalypse.
Coming up in November: Scrolling Ourselves to Death? (How to fight phone idolatry), a report from rainy El Camino, Is the Star of David an occult symbol?, Further thoughts on Nicaea, A dyslexia-friendly Bible, and much more.
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