August 15, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Year: 2019

Accepting the help of those whom we serve
Cross-Cultural Living

Accepting the help of those whom we serve

Have you ever turned down an offer of financial help? As cross-cultural workers who are expected to raise our support “by faith”, most of us cannot imagine a situation where someone would like to give toward our ministry, and we would refuse to accept the gift. But apparently this was what the great apostle Paul did – and multiple times over a period of a year and a half while living in Corinth. In his second letter to the church, he says: Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Review: Hearers and Doers
Disciple-making, Theology, Book Reviews, Bible, Church, Worldview

Review: Hearers and Doers

In his recent book, Hearers and Doers: A Pastor’s Guide to Making Disciples through Scripture and Doctrine, Kevin Vanhoozer makes the claim that everyone is a disciple of someone else. We all follow someone else’s words or stories. The question is whose words, whose stories are we following. We often follow the stories that provide meaning for our culture. The book identifies as a pastor’s guide but has valuable insights for missionaries. Vanhoozer makes use of Charles Taylor’s (the author of A Secular Age) concept of social imaginary. He explains:             A social imaginary is the picture that frames our everyday beliefs and practices, in particular the “ways people imagine their social existence.” The social imaginary is the nest of background assumptions, often implicit, that lead people to feel things as right or wrong, correct or incorrect. It is another name for root metaphor… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Church Planting, Missionary Roles, Bible

Timothy and Titus as Models

In  a previous post we looked at how Paul identified himself as a preacher, apostle, and teacher of the gospel in the Pastoral Epistles. I suggested that today’s missionary identifies with Paul as preacher and teacher of the apostolic gospel. We are not apostles but preach and teach the message of the apostles recorded in Scripture. Timothy and Titus likewise were not apostles but served as coworkers with Paul and in the Pastoral Epistles were delegates of Paul. So we share an affinity with Timothy and Titus as ministers under the authority of the apostles. THE ROLE OF TIMOTHY AND TITUS In writing about the role of Timothy and Titus, Andreas Köstenberger notes: Timothy and Titus are often viewed as pastors of local congregations. However, as mentioned, their role is not actually that of permanent, resident pastor of a church. Rather, these men serve as Paul’s apostolic delegates who are… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Missionary Identity according to Paul
Missionary Roles

Missionary Identity according to Paul

The letters to Timothy and Titus are important for understanding Paul’s perspective on missions and his own identity as a missionary. Chaio Ek Ho concludes his article on the Pastoral Epistles: From our examination of the letters in the PE [Pastoral Epistles], we have seen how these letters articulate an underlying missionary outlook and a theology of mission à la Paul. (Chaio Ek Ho, “Mission in the Pastoral Epistles,” Entrusted with the Gospel: Paul’s Theology in the Pastoral Epistles, ed. by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Terry L. Wilder, 2010, p267.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Desiring offspring
Disciple-making

Desiring offspring

In preparing for a new session that I will be teaching in our pre-field training, I have been struck by how prominent the theme of offspring is in the Scriptures. Barry Danylak in his book, A Biblical Theology of Singleness does a great job of showing how this motif is developed throughout the biblical revelation. Beginning with God’s command to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28) and continuing with God’s promises to Abram that his offspring would be like the dust of the earth (Gen 13:16) and the blessings of no childlessness in the Mosaic covenant (Deut 7:14, 28:11), it is clear that children were the marks of God’s blessing in the Old Testament. Offspring carried on your name and gave you some hope for life after death. To be without children meant not experiencing God’s blessing and having no hope for the future.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
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