The Secret I’ve Dutifully Carried for Two Months and Political Protests

I will begin with the protests.

As many of you know, Bangkok has been wreaked with political upheaval over the last week. Simply put, Thai politics have been essentially polarized into two vehemently-opposed camps (Americans readers: sound familiar?). These groups are labeled as the red shirts (anti-current government) and the yellow shirts (pro-current government… and military-backed). Presently, the red-shirts have staged protests all throughout the city for the past week, peaking at around 100,000, and have done everything to express their grievances from boisterous parades around the city to hurling blood (their own, donated) on government buildings and the Prime Minister’s house. Here’s some shots from one of the protests I attended:

Now for the secret.

To be fair, I was the definition of politeness when I initially turned down the position, I even wished them well in their search for someone to fill it. However, the thought- unlike most unwelcome considerations- would not leave but hounded me until I had submitted to discussing it with close friends, and that is where it gained its foothold.

I’ll slay all suspense- although I will be returning to the States for summer break, it is not a permanent move. Come July, I will be returning to Thailand not as a teacher, but as the youth pastor of the church I’ve attended for the past two years. This change of events has been close to two months in the making, but of course I’ve not been allowed to speak of it until it had been revealed to the congregation. The Reader’s Digest version goes something like this: things have not gone well for the current youth pastor and he will be returning to the States at the end of the school year. As I’ve worked alongside the youth program for the last two years, my church has asked my to fill the position as they search for a permanent replacement. Although there are definitely drawbacks for remaining another year in Thailand, there are perks as well: a condo with pool access in an ex-pat community, my own car and no joke, motorbike for cruising on the weekends.. maybe I could a (motor)biker group!

Obviously, this was not an easy decision to make with grad school just around the corner. The deeper truth is that I have a bit of an inborn aversion to positions with the label “full-time ministry”, not because I dislike service-oriented jobs, but because of all the baggage and hypocrisy that I’ve seen attached to such positions all throughout my life. I’ve seen people change, feeling as though they must become superior in their humanity in order to “live above reproach” and this attitude either bred frustration in their realization that they were no more”righteous” then the faces staring back at them from the pews, or developed an intolerable, self-righteous arrogance that left people feeling disgusted with them and the faith which they represented.

These were my fears, but after several long discussion with the head pastor, I felt confident in knowing that I could fulfill my role, which is essentially relationship-building with a focus on Christ, without being coerced to alter who I am. Without being assured of this, there was no way I could confidently accept the position.

At this point, I’ve become increasingly excited about what the oncoming year will bring. Our youth program already has a great group of kids and I’m excited to be able to interact and engage with them on a far deeper level. Even though this a drastic change from my original plans- getting settled in NY and working towards a Masters in Journalism- my hope is that you will support me in this, as many of you already have; many thanks for that!

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