The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Author: Gary Ridley Page 14 of 29

Education: BA Gordon College 1973; M.Div. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 1977; DMiss Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 1990.
Ministry: SEND Missionary 1977-present. Faculty at Alaska Bible College 1978-2013. SEND U Missiologist 2013-present.
Family: Married, 3 children, 6 grandchildren.

Book Review: Contextualizing the Faith

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On December 10, 2018

In Book Reviews, Contextualization

Last month a new book on contextualization was published by Baker Academic. It is by A. Scott Moreau,  and is entitled Contextualizing the Faith: A Holistic Approach. Contextualizing the Faith: A Holistic Approach by [Moreau, A. Scott]Dr. Moreau is associate academic dean and professor of intercultural studies at Wheaton College Graduate School. He takes a ‘dimensional’ approach to contextualization, “an approach that deals with the whole life of the church and yet organized in a way that it could be taken in smaller chunks” (preface, ix). Moreau develops an approach to contextualization that goes beyond the intellectual or theological level.

In chapter 1, he sets the stage by briefly discussing “What is Contextualization?” He does not give a formal definition but the following quote characterizes his understanding:

 

 

 

 

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Book Review: Looming Transitions

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On November 15, 2018

In Cross-Cultural Living, Book Reviews

Transitions are common in a missionary’s life. My wife and I have been missionaries for 41 years and are now in the middle of our 9th “Home Service.” Saying that transitions are common does not mean they are not difficult or disruptive. Transitions are never easy but there is light beyond them. Amy Young has written a helpful book, Looming Transitions: Starting and Finishing Well in Cross-Cultural Service, published in 2016. She writes from her own twenty-year experience serving in Asia where she helped “hundreds of people adjust to the field and prepare to leave it” (back cover). She writes in an easy conversational style.

The Introduction and first two chapters give a clear and honest picture of what transitions look like. The author points out that the stress of transitions stems from the gap between our expectations and the reality along the way. Transitions affect us socially, physically, and emotionally.

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Reflections on Worship

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On October 16, 2018

In Training

Andrew Peterson’s Resurrection Letters, Vol. 1: Songs that fuel missionary worship

If John Piper is right (and he is) that worship is the fuel and goal of missions (Let the Nations Be Glad, 11), then missionaries ought to cultivate their worship. Music is a prime means of expressing our worship. In my personal time with the Lord I often will meditate on the lyrics as I listen to Christian artists. I have especially enjoyed Andrew Peterson’s lyrics for their imagery and biblical content.

This past Easter at our church we sang Peterson’s new song, “Is He Worthy” drawn from Revelation chapter five. I was overwhelmed. I could not speak for a while. A friend of mine said to me “that song took me by surprise.” He was likewise moved. When I got home I downloaded the Resurrection Letters, vol. 1 album and started listening. The whole album is a delightful meditation on the cross and resurrection. The songs are rich in biblical imagery and the instrumentation is beautiful, especially the hammered dulcimer. The album provided the structure for a day alone with God this past summer. After each song I read passages of Scripture prompted by the lyrics. It was a rich day of worship.

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Book Review: Two Stories of Everything

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On September 15, 2018

In Islam, Book Reviews, Storying, Worldview

Why review another book comparing Islam and Christianity? Two Stories of Everything: the Competing Metanarratives of Islam and Christianity by Duane Alexander Miller take a different approach than most. Rather than comparing Islam and Christianity as religions, Miller compares the metanarratives that Islam and Christianity tell. Metanarratives are the overarching story that includes and defines all the smaller stories of a people. It is the story that communicates the worldview of a group. I find it interesting that Miller never uses the term ‘worldview’ (if he did I missed it). I think he wanted to stay focused on the stories of everything rather than get bogged down in a philosophic analysis. He has lived in the Middle East and has personal experience interacting with Muslims for whom he shows great respect. He explains his approach in the introduction:

People often talk of Islam and Christianity as competing religions, and compare their doctrines and practices. When I moved to the Middle East ten years ago I shared this opinion. But over that time I found this approach to be deficient. Which is not to say it is wrong, but it fails to grasp the genius of either of these collections of doctrines and practices. … In this book I will outline the stories that Islam and Christianity tell. Furthermore, all these stories (or narratives) find themselves included in a great story of everything, which is to say a metanarrative. Islam and Christianity, whatever they may be, certainly do propose to tell a grand story of everything, from creation of the world and time all the way to the consummation of history and the eternal fate of human souls. – Duane Alexander Miller, Two Stories of Everything, xi.

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Book Review: Marks of the Messenger

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On September 3, 2018

In Book Reviews, Evangelism, Gospel

On the back cover of J. Mack Stiles’ book: Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010) D. A. Carson comments:

I do not think I have ever read a book on evangelism that makes me more eager to pass it on than this one – better, that makes me more eager to evangelize than this one. -D. A. Carson.

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