Tag: missions
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“What Every Christian Needs To Know About the Qur’an”
I haven’t read many of James White’s writings. If I had I might have known what I was getting into when I started to read What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an. I expected something akin to an “Idiot’s Guide” book. I quickly realized, however, that this was a well-researched, carefully documented, and cogently […]
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Pricking balloons?
One of the reasons for my lack of blogging (besides being a widowed father of six) is that I’m back in the classroom, the virtual classroom of SBTS. I am studying Intercultural Communication and one of the highlights has been the assigned reading. I’ve enjoyed David Hesselgrave’s [amazon_link id=”0310368111″ target=”_blank” ]Communicating Christ Cross-culturally[/amazon_link]. His point […]
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Making sense of Paul’s mission
As I have been thinking through Rob Bell’s [amazon_link id=”006204964X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Love Wins[/amazon_link], I began to think through the implications of his position. This kind of “What if he is right?” exercise has helped me think through other issues. The question tends to clarify matters for me. One of the questions that arose […]
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Caring for Missionaries: The Action Imperative, part 3
(continued from part 1 and part 2) Leverage technology. The world is much smaller today. Fast, inexpensive, and pervasive telecommunications make keeping in touch with missionaries an everyday possibility. Because of the revolution the internet was brought about, even missionaries living in remote areas are no longer relegated to living in the far-flung corners of […]
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Caring for Missionaries: The Action Imperative, part 2
(continued from part 1) Focus your efforts. I have six children. As a widowed father, there are many demands on my time and attention. “Dad, Dad, DAD!” is an ongoing chorus. It is easy to give attention to the noisy ones. However, I’m striving to become more intentional with each of them. Each of them […]
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Caring for Missionaries: The Action Imperative, part 1
Caring for missionaries is a biblical imperative and necessary for missionary effectiveness, even if some missionaries don’t want it. If so, action is imperative. Care for missionaries needs to be more than a good idea. What to do? Adopt! Adoption is an apt metaphor. Although it is one that should be qualified, especially since “adopt-a-pet” […]
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Are We Endangering Languages?
“Every 14 days a language dies.” NatGeo, Enduring Voices Project For some time I’ve wondered about the teaching of English as an evangelism tool. When I read a statistic like the one from NatGeo, my wonder really gets going. There is a widespread desire and, sometimes, a need for people to learn English. Why not […]
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Caring for Missionaries: Do We Need It?
While not all missionaries will welcome care, a number of factors point to our need of support beyond prayer and finances. In his EMQ article “Alone on Your Field? Here’s What to Do“, Ken Holderman Jr. points to an important mental health perspective: “every normal person needs around 15 to 20 friends or in order […]
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Caring for Missionaries: Do We Want It?
The question that came up in several conversations as I talked about Caring for Missionaries at the Stoney Creek Missions Conference was “Do missionaries want care?” I’m sure that there are some missionaries who would say an unqualified “No way!!” Some may have received used tea bags from well-meaning “supporters” while on the field. (For […]
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Caring for Missionaries: The Biblical Imperative
This week I’ve participated in the Stoney Creek Baptist Church missions conference. Their theme “iCare: What Can I Do?” is all about caring for missionaries. I don’t remember hearing of a church having that kind of focus on missionary care. On Sunday Aaron, my good friend and Stoney Creek’s Associate Pastor, preached. He commented that […]