December 6, 2024

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Books

Training, Book Reviews, Pre-field Training

Book Review: Relational Missionary Training

In 2006 Enoch Wan introduced his paradigm of “Relational Realism” in an article in the Occasional Bulletin of the Evangelical Missiological Society. This paradigm sees reality as defined by the vertical relationship with the Triune God and the horizontal relationships between created beings. In 2017, together with Mark Hedinger, he published the book, Relational Missionary Training: Theology, Theory, and Practice. Essentially, the book applies the relational realism model to the task of training missionaries. The book aims to provide a foundation for this paradigm. Therefore, the authors look at theological, educational and practical aspects of the model. Their purpose is to describe the paradigm and show how a training program could be developed along these lines. The authors also note that the book is written with missionary trainers in mind.1p.15 So, that makes me part of the target audience. The book contains four parts: Theology (Chapters 1-3)Theory (Chapters 4-5)Practice (Chapters 6-8)Summary… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Evangelism, Book Reviews, Contextualization

Stott on The Christian Life: a book review

John Stott’s messages at the Urbana Mission Conferences greatly influenced a number of missionaries of my generation. So, when Stott on the Christian Life: Between Two Worlds by Tim Chester came out this past summer, I decided to review the book. It is #16 in the Crossway’s series, Theologians on the Christian Life. See my post a few years ago on this series, and why it is a valuable resource. Why should missionaries read this particular book? I will focus on some key themes that make this book (and John Stott’s writings) an important read for missionaries. Shaped evangelicalism Throughout the book, Chester emphasizes how Stott’s life and ministry has shaped evangelicalism. The author writes in the Introduction: . . . the more I have explored his theology in its historical context, the more I have realized that it has been Stott, perhaps more than anyone else, who has influenced… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
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
A book about planning to live well after 40
Photo by Tristan Le from Pexels
Finishing Well, Book Reviews, Growth Plans

A book about planning to live well after 40

What does wellness look like after 40? Why should we care? We find helpful and practical answers in Wellness for the Glory of God: Living Well After 40 with Joy and Contentment in All of Life by John Dunlop, MD. The author focuses on wellness in the second half of life. In the introduction, he explains what the book is about:       What strategies can we who are getting older adopt that will maximize our chances to endure the challenges of our later days and continue to be well? The essence of this book is expressed in the title. Wellness depends on living with a purpose that goes beyond the here and now. Over and over I have seen that one way in which Christians can stay well in their twilight years is to keep their focus on God, his greatness, and his glory. The suggested strategies call… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Resources, Book Reviews

A Preventive Guide to Raising Healthy TCKs

Raising Up a Generation of Healthy Third Culture Kids: A Practical Guide to Preventive Care by Lauren Wells is a preventive guide that offers a whole toolbox of practical helps for parents of TCKs. This book is a recent addition to the SEND U wiki MK/TCK Resources page for the parents of MKs/TCKs. A few weeks ago, Sharon Wicker reviewed another resource from that wiki page. Filling a gap On this page are several books that have been go-to resources for years. They are tools that are great for helping parents and others to understand what a Third Culture Kid is. These books help us understand how growing up in a culture different from one’s parents will shape and impact who we are. Two books in particular do a great job describing what a TCK is. They are Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds by David… Read the whole post
Teena Embaugh2 mins read
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