미래목회연구원을 줄여서 미목연이라고 부르는 모임의 회원은 국내외에 30명 이상 됩니다. 모두들 함께 울산교회에서 부교역자로서 사역을 하다가, 지금은 더 이상 울산교회에 있지 않고 각자 흩어져 사역을 하는 분들입니다. 나라별이나 지역별로 살피면, 멀리 키르기스, 필리핀, 태국, 미국에 있는 분들도 있고, 서울, 부천, 의왕, 동탄 등 수도권뿐만 아니라 천안, 대구, 부산, 울산, 김해, 장유, 거제, 광주 등지에 흩어져서 <이 세상 나라를 우리 주 하나님과 그리스도의 나라로> 만드는 존귀한 부름을 받아 사역하고 있습니다. 미국을 제외한 해외에 계신 분들은 선교사로 사역하고, 미국이나 대부분 국내 사역자들은 각기 자기의 목회 사역을 하고 있고 교수 사역을 하고 계신 분도 있습니다.
올해 모임은 제가 있는 에스라성경대학원대학교에서 이번 월요일부터 1박2일로 모였습니다. 교회 상황이라든지 학교를 다니는 자녀들 형편도 있고, 개인적인 건강의 문제도 있으니 모두 다 모이는 일은 불가능하지만 그래도 12가정은 부부로 참석하고 싱글로 참석한 분들도 세 분이나 되었습니다. 그러고 보니 거의 절반은 참석한 셈입니다. 일단 이번 모임은 6월 28일 월요일 점심 때 에스라대학원대학교의 아름다운 교정에서 양고기 바비큐로 오프닝을 했습니다. 물론 양고기라고 하면 냄새가 날 것을 염려하는 분들이 많습니다만 그것은 제가 하는 바비큐를 먹어볼 기회가 없는 분들이 갖는 편견입니다.
월요일 점심 식사 인원은 27명이었지만 그 정도는 우리 부부가 감당하기에는 크게 어렵지 않습니다. 한 때는 6, 70명도 8,90명도 우리 집 정원에서 감당했고, 최고는 150명 가까이도 경주가족공원에서 한 적도 있습니다. 그러나 목회 은퇴와 함께 대형사고(?)는 치지 않기로 했지만 에스라로 올라온 후에 학우들과 교직원 40명을 위해서도, 벌써 두 차례 바비큐 파티를 했으니 이번 일은 외부지원 없이도 능히 감당할 수 있는 사이즈입니다. 어떤 사모님은 늦게 도착을 해서 배식에 관한 지침, 양갈비 3쪽이 기본이라는 것을 듣지 못하고, 남편은 4쪽, 아내는 6쪽을 먹었다는 고백을 했습니다. 사연을 듣고 보니 어떤 대형마트에서 양고기를 볼 때마다, 가격이 만만찮아서, 팩을 들었다 놓았다 수 차례했는데 따뜻한 양고기 바비큐를 보았으니 그 순간에 절제하기란 어려웠을 겁니다.
하다보니 입을 즐겁게 하는 먹는 이야기가 좀 길어졌습니다. 음식보다 더 중요한 프로그램은 또한 입으로 하는 대화입니다. 서로를 만나면서부터 날리는 사랑의 눈빛과 거의 연속적으로 터져나오는 웃음소리, 아무런 꺼리낌 없이 사역현장에서 있었던 일들이나 가족들의 안부와 목회 정보를 나누는 복된 모임입니다. 세월이 흘렀는데도 수 십년 전의 모습이 달라지지 않고, 왁자지껄한 가운데, 서로 지지하고 사랑하는 관계에서만 누리는 즐거움이 있기에, 형편이 되면 모두 참석하고 싶어합니다. “오늘 너무 함께 하고 싶었는데, 퇴원 후 첫 주일을 보내고 몸이 정상이 아니라, 가지 못했네요! 오랜 만에 반가운 얼굴들 만나서 좋은 시간 보내고 계실 것 같아, 약간, 질투(?)가 생기려고 합니다.^^” “20여년 선교사로 사역하는 동안 처음으로 4박5일간 이곳의 유명한 장소인 이스쿨 호수쪽으로 가족 휴가를 가게되었습니다. ^^ 늘 여름이면 단기선교팀 준비로 바빴었고 … 여름기간에 가족과 이렇게 길게 휴식을 가져본 것은 처음인 것 같습니다.” 국내외에서 보내온 카톡입니다.
“정목사님~내일 새벽 필리핀으로 오시네요~? 줌이지만.. 웰컴입니다~ㅎ” 미목연 모임 가운데도, 화요일 아침 7시에는 필리핀 한인선교사협의회가 주선한, 세계 선교사 새벽기도회에 말씀으로 섬기고 8시에는 선교사님들과 줌으로 대담을 했습니다. 10시에는 북한산 산행을 하고, 12시에 내려와 식당에 도착했을 때는 얼마나 시원하게 소나기가 퍼붙는지요^^ 한 치의 어김없는 하나님의 스케줄 개입으로 인해서 감사한 수련회였습니다. 저녁이 되니 도착한 톡입니다. “남조선의 최북단에서 정 목사님 준비해 주신 양고기 너무 잘 먹으면서 미목연 시작하고, 남조선의 최남단 거제의 김명식 목사님 섬김으로 소고기 먹으면서 미목연 마쳐서 행복합니다. 이제 양고기 소고기 잘 먹었으니 ‘네 양 떼의 형편을 부지런히 살피며 네 소 떼에게 마음을 두라’(잠27:23) 하신대로 다시 목양의 현장으로 즐겁게 갑니다. 내년이 벌써 기대됩니다. 모두 감사합니다.”
The Institute for Future Pastoral Ministry, affectionately abbreviated as Mimokyeon, counts more than thirty members serving both at home and abroad. Every one of them once served alongside me as associate pastors at Ulsan Church, but now they are no longer together at Ulsan Church, having scattered to their respective fields of ministry. Looking at them geographically, some are as far afield as Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. Domestically, they are not only across the greater Seoul metropolitan area—such as Seoul, Bucheon, Uiwang, and Dongtan—but also scattered throughout Cheonan, Daegu, Busan, Ulsan, Gimhae, Jangyu, Geoje, and Gwangju. Each is faithfully answering the noble calling to make "the kingdom of the world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ." Those abroad outside the United States minister as cross-cultural missionaries, while those in the United States and across South Korea shepherd their own pastoral flocks or serve in theological education.
This year’s retreat was held for two days and one night, beginning on Monday, here at Ezra Bible Graduate University, where I currently serve. Between the diverse circumstances of their local churches, children’s schooling schedules, and personal health challenges, gathering everyone in one place was impossible. Still, twelve couples attended together, along with three who came on their own. When all was said and done, nearly half of our fellowship managed to be there. We opened the gathering on Monday, June 28th, with a lunch of roasted lamb barbecue out on the beautiful campus of Ezra Bible Graduate University. Naturally, many people worry about an unpleasant odor when they hear the word lamb, but that prejudice only exists in those who have never had the privilege of tasting my barbecue.
There were twenty-seven around the table for Monday's lunch, a number my wife and I can easily manage. There was a time when we hosted sixty, seventy, and even eighty or ninety guests in our home garden, and our all-time record was serving nearly 150 people at Gyeongju Family Park. Though I resolved not to cause any such "major incidents" after retiring from pastoral ministry, since moving up to Ezra I have already hosted two barbecue feasts for forty students, faculty, and staff members. Handling this retreat without any outside assistance was well within our stride. One pastor's wife arrived late and missed the serving guideline—that the baseline portion was three lamb chops each. She confessed later that her husband ate four while she enjoyed six. Hearing her story, she explained that whenever she saw lamb at the wholesale mart, the price tag always felt too steep, and she would pick up the package and put it back down multiple times. Finding herself face-to-face with piping-hot lamb barbecue fresh off the grill, exercising restraint in that moment would indeed have been near impossible.
Writing this, I seem to have lingered a bit long on stories of food that delight the palate. Yet far more important than the meal is the conversation that flows from the mouth. From the moment we laid eyes on one another, loving glances were exchanged, bursts of laughter rang out almost uninterrupted, and everyone shared openly without reservation about their ministries, their families' well-being, and pastoral insights. It was a truly blessed gathering. Though decades have slipped by, none of our camaraderie has faded; amid the lively clamor lies a joy found only in relationships where people wholeheartedly support and cherish one another, which is why everyone yearns to attend if their circumstances allow. "I longed so much to be with you today, but this is my first Lord's Day after being discharged from the hospital and my body hasn't fully recovered, so I couldn't make it! Imagining you all spending such a wonderful time together seeing familiar faces after so long, I can feel a tiny hint of jealousy creeping in! ^^" "In my twenty-plus years as a missionary, this is the very first time our family has taken a four-night, five-day vacation together near the famous Lake Issyk-Kul. ^^ Summers were always so consumed with preparing for short-term mission teams . . . I believe this is the first time I have ever enjoyed such an extended rest with my family during the summer." These were KakaoTalk messages sent from friends near and far.
"Rev. Jung~ Are you coming to the Philippines tomorrow at dawn~? It's via Zoom, but still... welcome! Haha." Even in the midst of our retreat, on Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m., I had the joy of preaching God's Word at a global missionary dawn prayer gathering organized by the Council of Korean Missionaries in the Philippines, followed by an 8:00 a.m. dialogue with the missionaries over Zoom. At 10:00 a.m., we set out on a hike up Bukhansan Mountain, and right around noon, just as we descended and arrived at the restaurant, a refreshing downpour of rain poured from the skies. It was a retreat filled with thanksgiving for God's unerring divine timing in our schedule. As evening fell, another message arrived: "What a joy it was to kick off our retreat at the northernmost edge of South Korea enjoying the delicious lamb prepared by Rev. Jung, and to conclude it eating beef hosted by Pastor Myung-Sik Kim in Geoje at the southernmost tip! Now that we have been well-nourished with both lamb and beef, we return joyfully to our pastoral pastures, just as Scripture says: 'Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds' (Prov. 27:23). I am already looking forward to next year. Thank you, everyone."
Die Instituut vir Toekomstige Pastorale Bediening, wat ons liefdevol Mimokyeon noem, tel meer as dertig lede hier te lande en oorsee. Almal van hulle het vroeër saam met my as medeleraars in Ulsan Gemeente gearbei, maar vandag is hulle nie meer by Ulsan Gemeente nie en dien hulle elkeen op verskillende terreine. As ’n mens na hul geografiese verspreiding kyk, is sommige so ver as Kirgisië, die Filippyne, Thailand en die Verenigde State. Binnelands is hulle nie net oor die hoofstedelike gebied versprei nie—soos Seoel, Bucheon, Uiwang en Dongtan—maar ook regoor Cheonan, Daegu, Busan, Ulsan, Gimhae, Jangyu, Geoje en Gwangju. Elkeen arbei getrou in antwoord op die edele roeping om "die koninkryke van die wêreld die koninkryke van onse Here en van sy Christus" te maak. Dié wat buite die VSA in die buiteland woon, dien as sendelinge, terwyl dié in die VSA en die meeste binnelandse kollegas hul eie gemeentebedienings lei of as dosente doseer.
Vanjaar se byeenkoms is as ’n tweedaagse saamtrek vanaf Maandag gehou by Ezra Bybelse Nagraadse Universiteit, waar ek tans verbonde is. Weens uiteenlopende gemeente-omstandighede, kinders se skooleksamens en persoonlike gesondheidsprobleme was dit onmoontlik vir almal om byeen te kom. Nietemin kon twaalf egpare asook drie enkellopendes dit bywoon. As ’n mens mooi kyk, was byna die helfte van ons geledere teenwoordig. Ons het die byeenkoms op Maandagmiddag, 28 Junie, geopen met ’n lamsbraai op die pragtige kampus van Ezra Bybelse Nagraadse Universiteit. Natuurlik is daar baie mense wat bang is vir ’n onaangename reuk wanneer hulle van lamsvleis hoor, maar dit is bloot ’n vooroordeel van diegene wat nog nooit die voorreg gehad het om my braaivleis te proe nie.
Daar was sewe-en-twintig mense by Maandag se middagete, ’n getal wat vir my en my vrou glad nie moeilik is om te behartig nie. Op ’n tyd het ons sestig, sewentig, en selfs tagtig tot negentig gaste in ons eie tuin onthaal, en ons hoogste getal ooit was bykans 150 mense by die Gyeongju-gesinspark. Hoewel ek my met my emeritaat voorgeneem het om nie meer sulke "reuse-avonture" aan te pak nie, het ek sedert my koms na Ezra reeds twee keer ’n braaifees vir veertig studente en personeellede aangebied. Hierdie byeenkoms was dus van so ’n omvang dat ons dit met gemak sonder enige hulp van buite kon behartig. Een pastoriemoeder wat laat opgedaag het, het nie die riglyn gehoor dat die basiese porsie drie lamskotelette per persoon was nie; sy het later beken dat haar man vier en sy self ses geëet het. Toe ek haar storie hoor, het sy verduidelik dat sy telkens by die groot supermark na die lamsvleis gekyk het, maar omdat dit so duur was, het sy die pakkie telkens opgetel en weer teruggesit. Toe sy voor die warm lamsbraai te staan kom, was dit op daardie oomblik sekerlik te moeilik om selfbeheersing aan die dag te lê.
Nou ja, dit lyk of ek dalk te lank stilgestaan het by die kos wat die mond vertroetel. Tog is die gesprekke wat uit die mond vloei baie belangriker as die voedsel self. Van die oomblik dat ons mekaar raaksien, flits daar liefdevolle blikke, bars die lagbuie aanhoudend los, en deel almal sonder enige skroom hul bedieningservarings, gesinsnuus en pastorale insigte. Dit is ’n waarlik geseënde gemeenskap. Al het die jare verbygegaan, het die gees van dekades gelede geensins verander nie; te midde van die vrolike rumoer heers daar ’n vreugde wat net geken word in verhoudings waar mense mekaar van harte ondersteun en liefhet. Daarom wil elkeen bitter graag kom as die omstandighede dit toelaat. "Ek wou vandag so graag saam met julle wees, maar aangesien dit my eerste Sondag ná ontslag uit die hospitaal was en my liggaam nog nie heeltemal reg is nie, kon ek nie kom nie! As ek dink aan hoe julle ná so ’n lang tyd weer mekaar se bekende gesigte sien en heerlik saam kuier, voel ek sommer ’n bietjie jaloers! ^^" "In my meer as twintig jaar as sendeling is dit die heel eerste keer dat ons gesin vir vier nagte en vyf dae saam met vakansie kon gaan na die bekende Issik-Koel-meer. ^^ Ons was elke somer so besig met die voorbereiding van korttermyn-uitreikspanne . . . Ek glo dit is die eerste keer dat ek so ’n lang rusperiode in die somer saam met my gesin kon deurbring." Dit was KakaoTalk-boodskappe wat van heinde en verre ingestroom het.
"Ds. Jung~ Kom u môreoggend vroeg na die Filippyne toe~? Dit is wel oor Zoom... maar u is baie welkom! Ha-ha." Te midde van die Mimokyeon-saamtrek het ek Dinsdagoggend om 07:00 die Woord bedien tydens ’n wêreldwye sendeling-oggendbiduur wat deur die Koreaanse Sendelingeraad in die Filippyne gereël is, en om 08:00 het ek ’n Zoom-gesprek met die sendelinge gevoer. Om 10:00 het ons ’n bergklimroete op Bukhansan aangepak, en toe ons teen 12:00 afdaal en by die restaurant aankom, het daar so ’n heerlike, verfrissende reënbui losgebars! Dit was ’n saamtrek deurdrenk van dankbaarheid teenoor God, wie se tydsberekening sonder die minste afwyking volmaak in ons program ingevleg was. Teen die aand het daar nog ’n boodskap gekom: "Wat ’n vreugde was dit nie om Mimokyeon aan die noordelikste punt van Suid-Korea te begin met die heerlike lamsvleis wat ds. Jung voorberei het, en dit aan die suidelikste punt in Geoje af te sluit met beesvleis wat deur ds. Myung-Sik Kim voorgesit is nie! Noudat ons ons behoorlik aan lams- en beesvleis versadig het, keer ons met blydskap terug na ons eie weivelde, net soos die Spreukeskrywer sê: 'Gee noukeurig ag op die voorkoms van jou kleinvee, rig jou aandag op die troppe' (Spr. 27:23). Ek sien nou al uit na aanstaande jaar. Baie dankie aan almal."