August 15, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Missiology

The ‘Same God Question’ Revisited
Christ, Missiological Issues, Islam, Missiology, Theology

The ‘Same God Question’ Revisited

In the December issue of Themelios  Fred Farrokh (a Muslim-background Christian who currently serves as an international trainer with Global Initiative) has written an article looking at how Muslim scholars view the question, “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?”(subsequently referred to as SGQ). The article is available online at this link. Farrokh points out that Muslim scholars answer the SGQ with an emphatic and unequivocal “NO“. At most they would say that we share the concept of a creator God.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
So what if they have their own sacred books?
Islam, Missiology, Theology, Contextualization, Revelation, Bible, Missiological Issues

So what if they have their own sacred books?

Revelation is the foundational theological issue in contextualization (see my “Contextualization: Theological and Cultural Issues in Evangelical Models” on the SEND U wiki). Evangelical Christianity maintains that the Bible is God’s unique self-disclosure. Our SEND statement of faith says, “that it is the only infallible Word of God, and the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and conduct” (italics added). How does this commitment to the uniqueness of the Christian Scriptures guide our contextualization in the presence of competing revelational claims such as the Qur’an, the Book of Mormon, or the Hindu Scriptures?… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
What do you mean by the word “mission”?
Disciple-making, Missiology, Bible, Missiological Issues

What do you mean by the word “mission”?

Today the term ‘mission’ is in search of definition. It has become quite fluid and vague. In 2016, Jay Matenga and Malcom Gold wrote: We are in a state of missional (mission-related) anomie in which the forms and structures of the past are in a state of flux and a cohesive and accepted new way has yet to form. – Jay Matenga and Malcom Gold, Mission in Motion, 2016, William Carey Library, Kindle location 1258.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Elenctics
Missiology, Theology, Evangelism

Elenctics

About 35 years ago I heard Dr. Sam Rowen lecture on elenctics.  The term is seldom used in missiology today and the concept behind it gets little press. There is, however, an article on elenctics in the Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, (p. 307,8). The chief proponent of elenctics is J. H. Bavinck in his book, An Introduction to the Science of Missions (1960). J.H. Bavinck (1895-1964) was a missiologist in the Dutch Calvinist tradition. Elenctics, in Christianity, is a division of practical theology concerned with persuading people of other faiths (or no faith) of the truth of the Gospel message, with an end to producing in them an awareness of, and sense of guilt for, their sins, a recognition of their need for God’s forgiveness, repentance (i.e. the disposition to turn away from their sin) and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Wikipedia… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Missiology, Book Reviews, Evangelism, Missiological Issues

Review of “Controversies in Mission: Theology, People, and Practice in the 21st Century”

The Evangelical Missiological Society’s 2016 volume, Controversies in Mission, edited by Rochelle Cathcart Scheuerman and Edward L. Smithers contains papers from the 2015 Regional Meetings and National Conference. The book is divided into four parts: Part One, Biblical Perspectives and the Theology of Mission Part Two, The People of Mission Part Three, The Practice of Mission Part Four, Historical and Future Perspectives.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
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