November 11, 2025

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Month: November 2020

Book Review: Practicing Hope: Missions and Global Crises
Photo by Denniz Futalan from Pexels
Hardship, Training, Book Reviews, Pre-field Training

Book Review: Practicing Hope: Missions and Global Crises

Every year the Evangelical Missiological Society publishes a monograph containing papers from the previous year’s annual meeting. This year’s title is Practicing Hope: Missions and Global Crises, edited by Jerry Ireland and Michelle Raven. Yet before we assume the book is talking about COVID-19, we need to remember that when these papers were presented, no one knew a pandemic was coming. Jerry Ireland notes: In September 2019 almost 300 missionaries, missiologists, sociologists, theologians, anthropologists, and students gathered near Dallas for the annual meeting of the Evangelical Missiological Society. The theme was “Missions Amid Global Crises.” I do not think that any of us would have dreamed that eight months later the world would be engulfed in a global pandemic because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Overview of book Though none of the twelve chapters address the current pandemic crisis, these papers give us much to learn and apply. The chapter titles… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
What limits our disciple’s progress?
Image by Raphi D from Pixabay
Lifelong Learning, Training, Growth Plans, Disciple-making

What limits our disciple’s progress?

Over the years, I have recognized that many of those I have taught, coached or mentored have become better communicators and more effective leaders than me. I may have been their teacher, but their gifting and competency have surpassed my own. This has been a cause for celebration. I have even seen it as an indication of God’s blessing on my life. Upon first reading, Jesus’ words in John 14:12 might seem to suggest that he had the same sentiments. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. – John 14:12 However, I think D. A. Carson is right in saying that Jesus is talking about the greater impact the disciples will have once the resurrection has made it clear who Jesus is. The works… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Follow-up: Colossians – Avoid Syncretism
Picture by Greg Willis - originally posted to Flickr as Voodoo Altar, CC BY-SA 2.0
Christ, Follow-up

Follow-up: Colossians – Avoid Syncretism

This entry is part 10 of 13 in the series Follow-upIn this series on follow-up, we have been looking at how missionaries can continue to help churches they have planted after they no longer are resident where those churches are located. The letter to the Colossians was not written to a church that Paul planted like other letters we have looked at in this series. Rather, Epaphras, not Paul, planted the church in Colossae. This probably happened during Paul’s extended ministry at Ephesus (Acts 19). Paul describes Epaphras as “our beloved fellow servant” and “a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf” (Col. 1:7). Epaphras faithfully preached the Gospel in Colossae. But the new church struggled with staying true to the Gospel they heard from their missionary. Apparently, Epaphras had met Paul in Rome (Col. 4:12) and informed Paul of the false teaching threatening the church. As with most false… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Exploring Spiritual Formation: Grief – Part 2
Photo of praying man by Samuel Martins on Unsplash
Character, Hardship, Spiritual Formation, Theology, Prayer, God

Exploring Spiritual Formation: Grief – Part 2

This is the second of two posts that explore the subject of grief in the life of a believer. Part 1 presented the hallmarks and pitfalls of grief, along with a biblical perspective of grief. This month, in Part 2, the post will present ways we can prepare ourselves for, and respond to, grief.  Pandemic Grief I am an introvert. Actually, I’m a flaming introvert. Which means that, though I love people and find them interesting, I really, really, like to be alone. Fortunately, I married an introvert. And though we love being together, we’re also adept at making space for one another. Thus, you can imagine my surprise when I noticed myself suffering from loneliness during the COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent work-from-home state of affairs—a situation I thought was made for introverts. After some introspection, I realized I was missing my co-workers. Though we’ve seen each other over the… Read the whole post
Lynn Karidis1 min read
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